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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23610172">1964</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetUsWriteItOut/pseuds/LetUsWriteItOut'>LetUsWriteItOut</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>2020 Challanges [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abusive Parents, Crossdressing, Eventual Happy Ending, M/M, Time Travel Fix-It, Young Severus Snape</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:48:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death, Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>36,649</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23610172</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetUsWriteItOut/pseuds/LetUsWriteItOut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Drarry adopting a 4-year-old Sev with a dark start but a happy end!</i>
</p><p> </p><p>Draco decides to go back in time, but Harry accidentally follows, and they somehow adopt Severus together. If they are already parenting together, maybe they can also become more?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>2020 Challanges [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1694968</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>373</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>579</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>As part of the series, this fanfic was suggested by Trickster32 for my "What would you like to read?" challenge. Her ask was a Drarry time-travel story where they go back in time and adopt Severus (Harry accidentally gets dragged along first).</p><p>I must admit, I took some liberties with minor details, but hopefully not with the overall plot of the prompt! Thank you, Trickster, for suggesting this, your idea is so cute! XOXO</p><p>Also, I tried, but couldn't get the story fit into one longer story, so it will be more chapters, although I don't know how many yet.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry and the rest of the survivors were collecting the dead after the battle. He was still hurt as well, but there was a body he couldn’t let anybody else bring back to the castle.</p><p>He had found Malfoy next to Snape’s form in the Shack, gripping the wizard’s lifeless hand and staring into nothing. Harry had already seen the corpses of Narcissa and Lucius and a corpse that could have been Parkinson once, so he understood.</p><p>Someone wasn’t satisfied when Harry won the war. One person on the side of the “Light” wanted to further punish someone “Dark”, yelling it was to revenge a life of a dear relative who was already dead. However, that one curse reignited the battle which turned into bloodshed.</p><p>“I need to take him to the others,” was all Harry has managed to say then, making Draco jump, and grab a wand that wasn’t even his.</p><p>“I can’t let you,” Malfoy pointed it at him with such a tone that Harry thought it was better to not risk any sudden movements. “Don’t move!”</p><p>“Whatever you think you’re doing, stop,” Harry tried to sound firm but non-threatening. “It’s finally over. <i>Draco, please.</i>”</p><p>“Don’t call me that,” Malfoy snapped.</p><p>“Malfoy—”</p><p>Malfoy wasn't listening, just started an incantation in a language Harry had never heard, holding up a large crystal that was charcoal black in one minute, then started to glow red.</p><p>Whatever Malfoy was doing, it was Dark Magic that used Snape’s blood, and Harry instinctively knew there was not much time left if he wanted to stop the spell. He tackled Draco with physical force rather than risking a spell when there already so much magic was lingering in the air. </p><p>They ended up on the floor, and with Malfoy under him, struggling. Every time Harry had daydreamed about this happening, he never imagined this, but even before he could finish that line of thought, the crystal in Malfoy’s hands suddenly emitted a blinding light and a deafening noise, pushing them both back into the air.</p><p>“What the hell did you do?!” Malfoy yelled when Harry opened his eyes, and they were definitely not in the Shrieking Shack anymore, and Harry’s locator spells somehow didn’t work, when he wanted to check where they moved.</p><p>“What <i>I</i> did?” bickering with Malfoy was easy, just as always. “Why don’t you start by telling me what kind of Dark Magic were you just trying to attempt, followed by telling me where we are now, because...”</p><p>“I wasn’t just attempting it, Potter, you idiot, I was almost done with the ritual, but you couldn’t help yourself, and now we’re--“</p><p>“We are…?” Harry listened carefully because only Malfoy knew what was going on, but the blond must have thought the same thing as well because rather than answering, he started cursing Harry.</p><p>“<i>Obliviate!</i>”</p><p>Harry was hurt by multiple nasty battle-spells just hours before (not to mention he kinda died before that), and he was pretty sure his ankle broke the minute he landed wrong arriving here - wherever they were now.</p><p>So he kept his shields up, and in the meanwhile, he tried and failed to come up with a plan. However, his dumb-Potter-luck didn’t seem to completely run out, at least not yet, because as he was trying to put some distance between him and Malfoy, he palmed something soft and sturdy on the ground.</p><p>Just as he took a look at it, and Malfoy’s eyes followed Harry’s, Malfoy visibly flinched. So Harry got the sense that the small bag was Malfoy’s and somehow extremely important, yet he must have lost it when the crystal blew them apart.</p><p>“You don’t mind if I take a look into what’s inside this, do you?” he tested Malfoy. </p><p>“Take your eyes away from me just one second, and I won’t miss your head this time, Potter,” came the reply, only Harry didn’t buy it. Malfoy was bluffing, even though Harry didn’t know why.</p><p>“Well, then let me just banish it—“</p><p>“WAIT, you CAN’T!” Malfoy even stopped cursing him at that second, putting his wand to its holster, holding his empty hands up. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know, and you can verify if I’m telling the truth, but we’ll need the contents of that bag badly.”</p><p>“Oh, so it’s ‘us’ now? One second ago, you were just about to kill me,” Harry still kept his wand trained at Malfoy, but couldn’t help to feel relief. A couple of minutes more of that attack, and he might have been a goner.</p><p>“For the record, I’d only tried to Obliviate you, so you don’t mess up my plans further,” Draco said. “But give me the bag, and I’ll tell you everything.”</p><p>“First, tell me where are we,” Harry had no intention to give up his only leverage so fast.</p><p>“It’s not where, but when. We’re supposed to be in the year Severus was born, which would be 1960, but thanks to you, the magic didn’t take us entirely back, so I have no way of knowing…”</p><p>“You can’t change the past. Whatever happens, already happened, so what’s the point?” Harry couldn’t believe it. But he knew Malfoy too well. He wasn’t lying, and the irritated look on his face told Harry that the Malfoys could <i>indeed</i> afford an artifact that <i>could</i> change the past, unlike a Time-Turner.</p><p>“So how do we go back then?” Harry tried to consider their options.</p><p>“Did you see the artifact I had for the ritual disperse just when we got here? It was a one of a kind family heirloom, Potter, and it was only meant to work one way. So if you want to go back that badly, you’d have to wait 20-30 years, depending on when we are now exactly.”</p><p>Harry had a massive crush on Malfoy since probably forever but Merlin sees his soul, sometimes Malfoy didn't make that easy.</p><p>"Okay, so I know what to do," Harry decided.</p><p>"You do?"</p><p>"We go to the Malfoy Manor, steal the crystal from your ancestors that still must exist here, and I take you back to the future with it. Easy," Harry said, but the look on Malfoy's face promised something else altogether.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>In the 1960s Britain, according to the internet, there could have been places without running water, and if a household/inn had one, it might have been just one tap, so I was hesitant to write they could have showers (in case you're wondering).</p><p>But I also envisioned Harry renting a room in the Leaky Cauldron, and since it's not a Muggle establishment, I hope if their room had a bathtub, you guys can believe they could conjure enough water into it anyway with some Augamenti (Maxima) if nothing else.</p><p>&amp; I wrote "Harry" only in a couple of places, but that was intentional. Malfoy sometimes does drop his act and thinks about Harry just as "Harry", but not often (just yet).</p><p>Thank you all for reading, hopefully after this chapter, we'll rescue young Severus pretty soon. XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco had only slept that night because he was suffering from sleep-deprivation long before the Battle of Hogwarts, but waking up in the same bed as the Wizard-Who-Lived-Again was messing with his head.</p><p>Not that anything happened, and even if something would have, Draco was no longer a clueless teenager he once was when he dated a Drumstang student in his fourth year, not to mention his <i>arrangement</i> with Blaise later. But Blaise was not Potter.</p><p>Many times in the past Draco had wondered if Potter styled his hair to a mess on purpose to look more rebellious, but he didn’t have to guess anymore.</p><p>Potter had emerged from sleep even more steamy then usual, with his baggy clothes big enough around him to show some skin, his hair naturally unruly, and still sleepy-eyed but looking years younger without his glasses.</p><p>“Like what you see, Malfoy?” Potter asked, and Draco found himself already blushing before he could quickly deny everything without a second thought.</p><p>“I was only thinking you could use a proper bath, the cleaning charms didn’t seem to take the smell away,” he tried to hide the blush by turning his back to Potter, under the pretense of getting up, using a condescending voice only a true Malfoy could ever master completely.</p><p>His father would have been proud. Although not as much knowing Draco was only using this special skill because he was trying to stop himself from crushing on Harry Potter’s morning hair too much.</p><p>“Like you’re any better,” Potter said.</p><p>“If you had only listened, when I told you to rent not one but two rooms for us, believe me, I would have taken a bath already. I have more than enough money for it in the bag you oh-so-kindly stole,” complaining about the less than ideal accommodation and acting like a prat came so naturally to Draco he didn’t even have to fake it to change the topic, which he was secretly aiming for.</p><p>“And as I’ve told you already yesterday, it’s not about the money, but how we should keep our interaction with the locals to the bare minimum so we don’t change our future. Or would you prefer to go back only to find Voldemort wasn’t defeated, after all?”</p><p>Draco didn’t escape from that time just to go back there again, but it was useless arguing about it now when Potter was yet to obtain the crystal he needed for a way back.</p><p>“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to wash while you’re creepily watching me getting naked,” Draco huffed, as he’d ever do such thing, but it was important he was believed, so he even pulled off his shirt. It’s not like Potter was into wizards anyway.</p><p>And Draco was already well aware of Potter’s dreamy, Quidditch-honed muscles sometimes showing through even those ill-fitting clothes Potter always seemed to prefer.</p><p>There was completely no need to encourage Draco’s unnatural obsession with Potter any further by observing him taking baths just because it didn’t even seem to occur to Potter they might need some separation sometimes.</p><p>However, whatever Draco expected to accomplish by tossing his shirt to the floor it wasn’t Potter coming closer, running his fingers along the scars Draco only had because of him.</p><p>Salazar, Draco’s only luck was that he froze on the spot the minute Potter touched him, so at least he was too shocked to show any reaction he might have otherwise had.</p><p>“You’re right, I should get breakfast… and leave you to it,” it seemed like ages until Potter announced, turned, and left the room.</p><p>Even then, Draco’s mind was anywhere but on his hard-won privacy. It was so unlike Potter to agree with him on anything before, and just leave.</p><p>He usually couldn't be bothered how no one asked his opinion and would give you it anyway loud and clear. Just as he had an annoying habit of meddling into other people's personal business as if it concerned him, that's how he got to this time in the first place. </p><p>Then what just happened? Even if Potter was gay, it's not like he was a member of Draco's fan club, getting suddenly flustered in Draco's shirtless presence, he hated Draco too much to care.</p><p>Even if otherwise he'd fancy Draco or any other wizard, which in itself was a jump since Draco was almost positive Potter dated the youngest Weaslette for some time now. So?</p><p><i>So,</i> rather than wondering about yet another behavior Potter displayed Draco could never comprehend, Draco decided he should really use the tub in their room.</p><p>Getting clean after so long felt good, and made Draco wish he could just as easily wipe the things he had seen from his mind as well. He tried and failed to not think about all the people back home who'd never have the simple joy of ever having a bath again, suddenly feeling it wasn't him who should have survived.</p><p>He was just a coward, not even daring to tell Potter how much discontent he felt about the thought that Harry was trying to preserve that future so much.</p><p>Trying to shake these thoughts, he finished the bath quickly and waited, but Potter hadn’t returned. By the time Draco went downstairs, looking for him, to his surprise, Potter was making a scene.</p><p>“Are you seriously picking a fight, Potter?” he questioned because part of him couldn't believe the idiot.</p><p>“It’s been merely a misunderstanding,” a thug seemingly told Draco, while he was clearly provoking Potter for a fistfight, if not a duel.</p><p>Only, Draco couldn’t help but notice Saint Potter was also ready to jump the other man who was almost as big as the gamekeeper in Hogwarts, completely ignoring Draco who tried to stop him.</p><p>“I thought you said this time had to be saved so we have to be extremely careful, and now you’re picking a fight?” he tried to pull Potter away, lowering his voice so others couldn’t hear.</p><p>“Yes, that's what I thought until I saw this,” Potter just tossed a Prophet at Draco, but while he was distracted, the thug in the background cornered him, and even before Draco could warn Potter about it, hit the Saviour of the Wizarding World so hard that Potter fell to the floor.</p><p>Which was when Draco decided to join in, trying to curse the hell out of the malicious meathead attacking Harry, until the owner of the inn didn’t appear to break up the fight. But luckily not before Draco himself hit the goon with a nasty hex as some payback at least.</p><p>“Are you alright?” he helped Potter to stand, and couldn’t help but feel the thug deserved what he got when he saw the black eye Harry sported now.</p><p>“Did you know?” only Potter could look so utterly defeated, but at the same time fired up by complete fury towards Draco. For reasons unknown to the blond.</p><p>“That you needed a chaperone not to get in trouble at all time? No, but I have much more respect for Granger who must have been the one to look after you before,” Draco wondered out loud when Potter only spread the rolled-up Prophet in front of him.</p><p><b>Abraxas Malfoy claims theft, Aurors can’t find proof</b> read the title with big bold letters on the front page.</p><p>It described how the crystal mysteriously disappeared from the Malfoy Vault the day Harry and Draco had arrived here, "as if it dispersed into thin air", triggering a magical alarm, yet the Aurors finding the wards of the Vault completely intact.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for a little bit more world-building in this chapter! I have tried to make do without it - that's also why I couldn't post the new chapter earlier.</p>
<p>But hopefully you guys will see why I decided to detail a bit how the Drarry dynamics shifted even before Severus could be brought in. XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Anger like provoking a fight Harry had no chance to win was a distraction. A way to convince himself he didn’t feel anything else. No grief, no doubt, no panic.</p>
<p>No fear of a future that for the first time in his life was truly uncertain.</p>
<p>Before, even if he didn’t know he’d succeed, always had clear objectives. Responsibilities too important to ignore. Expectations, people’s eyes following him.</p>
<p>But not anymore.</p>
<p>And anger was a choice. Harry never before calmed down so fast when Draco appeared breaking up the fight, reminding Harry why he couldn’t just use anger as a tool to lie to himself anymore.</p>
<p>He let his anger get a better of him once, and he almost killed the blond. Harry had just seen the scars for Merlin’s sake.</p>
<p>But he also realized something when he let his anger go. His almost panic-like fear of making a decision that could ruin his future came from the fact that - uncharacteristically - he had a <i>choice.</i></p>
<p>He was free of the burden the Dursleys, the Weasleys, the Marauders, Dumbledore, and Voldemort, if not the whole magical society has placed on him. Not even McGonagall, Mrs. Weasley or Hermione were there with him to point out what needed to be done next.</p>
<p>People in this era didn’t look for his faults, direction or reactions. Of course, this also had a price: Harry had also left all his friends behind who survived. That’s why he wanted to return so badly.</p>
<p>But if that was impossible…</p>
<p>“I have a significant portion of the Malfoy Library shrunk in the bag you carry, so if you want to research Time-magic to get back, it might not be as easy, but I could help you,” Draco told him when he’d finished reading the Prophet.</p>
<p>Harry had to admit Malfoy was right. He was so preoccupied with his worries that he didn’t even consider searching for an alternative way back.</p>
<p>He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but defeating Voldemort wasn’t either. Any time he had to do it.</p>
<p>Since he had his doubts about how Malfoy would take a compliment coming from him (probably thinking Harry was insulting him sarcastically), he only held out his hand.</p>
<p>“Since we’re stuck here, it’s inevitable that we’ll change the future. So we could work together to make sure we’ll only change things for the better, right?”</p>
<p>Malfoy still eyed him suspiciously.</p>
<p>“If you want my help, I have some conditions,” he said, ignoring Harry’s hand as payback for when Harry did the same. “First, we should go to Gringotts, I have too many valuables shrunk in the bag you already stole to be walking around with it.”</p>
<p>If it would have been Dumbledore, he’d give Draco his bag back while putting a tracking charm on it, if not all of the contents. But Dumbledore had dealt with Grindelwald, not Draco.</p>
<p>And leverage on Malfoy was no longer necessary anyway since they were stuck.</p>
<p>“Here, arrange whatever you need,” Harry gave Draco his rightful property back, feeling still defeated.</p>
<p>“And you?” Malfoy asked. “I thought you’ll demand to follow me since technically if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be here.”</p>
<p>“I saw a sign in a shop window outside, looking for a cashier. I imagine it’s something even I could do without a complete Hogwarts education, so I’ll ask them,” Harry shrugged.</p>
<p>He didn’t plan to have high expenses, and he also had some money in his pocket that could cover a few weeks of rent. And if he worked, at least he’d get his mind off of memories, keeping busy.</p>
<p>“You know, most of the jobs like that are house-elf work for those who can’t even afford to pay for an actual house-elf,” Draco said as if now that he got rid of Harry, he was too shocked to just accept it.</p>
<p>“It’s only for a short time until I can get used to this era and find something better,” Harry tried to be optimistic. At least he would get payed for the tasks the Dursleys always demanded from him for free, that’s surely an advantage, right?</p>
<p>Well, the “interview” was interesting, given that the owner of the store wasn’t impressed by Harry in Muggle attire, so Harry decided to visit Madame Malkin’s right after. He needed a couple of items of clothing anyway.</p>
<p>Only, Draco had been waiting for him on the street by the time he was finished, carrying his new purchases.</p>
<p>“Follow me. I’m going to need to Side-Apparate you first, but then you will be keyed you into the wards,” he held out his hand for Harry.</p>
<p>“Where to exactly?” Harry reached for Draco’s extended right asking, only to find himself in front of a house that almost looked like a simple Muggle house from the outside. </p>
<p>Except, it housed an extension charm, and though it was nothing like the Malfoy Manor, in which you could get lost on the corridors if you didn’t pay attention, it has been inhabited by a wealthy owner before.</p>
<p>“I just bought it. Galleons worth a little bit more in the past, can you imagine?” the blond motioned around at the space. “You can have any room in the left-wing, I have already chosen one in the right, where Pinky had also helped me set the Library up which you can use as well, by the way. I’ll have meals at 7, 12, and 6 o’clock if you want to join, or ask Mindy to serve your meals whenever you prefer.”</p>
<p>Harry hesitated. After his shopping spree, Harry could use the free accommodation, but since when was Draco doing him any favors?</p>
<p>“What do you want in exchange?” he asked. Malfoy clearly didn’t expect any objections from his side, but Harry was confused.</p>
<p>“You said it yourself, Potter, that you’d do even house-elf work for a minimal wage,” Malfoy looked pointedly at him. “So I assumed you wouldn’t mind if I’d pay you the same and even provide you with accommodation for some tasks my elves can’t handle. Even if the rooms are not that big since the whole building is on the narrow side.”</p>
<p>“I have lived in a cupboard for ten years, I think it should be perfectly fine,” Harry said, making Draco stare, so he quickly added. “But I don’t know what could I do.”</p>
<p>“I assume you must have learned modern warding charms on the run. This building has a security system that’s at least 50 years old and could kill anyone nastily for a wrong move, but let intruders just walk in easily if they approached the house a Muggle way, as far as I can tell. You could fix that, as a start,” Malfoy announced.</p>
<p>Harry tried not to think he was sold to the idea because he found a Draco Malfoy who would share meals with him voluntarily a curious thing, but failed.</p>
<p>Maybe it was a keep-your-enemies-closer thing? Making sure Harry won't change the past in a way Malfoy wouldn't?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Part two for today! Thank you, everyone, for reading! Take care! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco not only acquired a property but rented a one-room Muggle house where he could watch the Snapes come and go.</p><p>If he would have arrived for Severus’ birth as planned, it would have been easier. Blood-adopting the newborn as sometimes Purebloods did, from magically potent but poor families.</p><p>Usually, the parents got a hefty sum in return, the child received education and a future beyond their dreams, and the bloodline of a Pureblood family could carry on.</p><p>But Severus being 4 meant he already knew his parents, even if Draco was quite convinced in Tobias’ case it wasn’t a good thing, Severus had never mentioned his mother. What if she really cared for him?</p><p>What if their domestic troubles had only started later, as Tobias has lost his job and his drinking got worse? But that theory was soon overturned.</p><p>Draco had learned the constant yelling between Eileen and Tobias had already started, and given how often Eileen left the house with a black eye or bruises on her wrists and neck, he felt justified trying to save Severus.</p><p>Tobias also often frequented the pub, drinking the last of the family’s money away, and Eileen would give it to him.</p><p>As long as her husband was gone, she was free to use magic and encourage Severus to do the same. If she wasn’t reading him books on magical theory, or try to teach him to read. Singing him to sleep at night, acting out fairy tales with him, always changing every story to have a happy end.</p><p>But once Tobias was home, she would completely shut down, stop talking, and trying shut up little Severus as well, as if then her husband wouldn’t punish her, which he always did anyway.</p><p>Draco cringed when Eileen was punished for the lack of her cooking skills when as a Pureblood, she wasn’t expected to cook anything herself before her marriage. And certainly not without money to buy the ingredients she needed, or without magic, which Tobias didn’t at all tolerate.</p><p>One day, Tobias came home early and caught Eileen telling Severus Potions was a class in Hogwarts, showing her son a textbook. Tobias in a rage not only burned the book but was about to hurt their son as well, while Eileen pleaded for him to punish her instead.</p><p>That was when Draco could no longer just watch and burst through the door with a wand at ready.</p><p>“Mrs. Snape, my name is Draco and I’m from a Pureblood family related to the Malfoys,” he quickly said, pointing his wand at Tobias, who was assessing him now. “I know about your current living conditions, and I want you to take Severus and Apparate to this address now. I’ll help you, but—“</p><p>“Are you from her <i>freak</i> of a family who abandoned her?” Tobias took a step toward Draco now. “Do you want a message to take back to them? Tell them she’s dead. She doesn’t need them or magic anymore. And you… you’re so weak! It was stupid of you to come here.”</p><p>“I have magic and you don’t. So I could say you’re the unwise one, provoking me in when I could just teach you a lesson,” Draco said.</p><p>He was raised not to lose his head when he was about to face a potential threat, even if it was just a drunk Muggle, but he found he wasn’t cool talking to Tobias at all.</p><p>“No! Leave, you don’t understand,” Eileen shrieked, with panic in her eyes.</p><p>Draco would have told her he wasn’t about to, not without her and Severus, when Tobias took another step and grabbed him by the throat, raising him off the ground.</p><p>And Draco’s spells weren’t working for some reason.</p><p>“He’s immune to magic,” Draco heard in his head, Eileen probably being just as much of a talented Legilimens as Severus would be later, planting the idea in his head without alerting her husband to their conversation. “When he let’s go, you should run for the door and save yourself. I’ll distract him. He won’t hurt me as badly, he loves me.”</p><p>“I’m here to save you. And your son. To give you a home you both deserve,” the blond wizard found himself arguing while he also used a spell to magic some purchase under his feet, using it as leverage when he next pushed Tobias away.</p><p>“I can’t leave,” Eileen said, while Tobias took a swing at Draco's face, and just barely missed.</p><p>“Think about your son. He’ll have accidental magic soon, how do you think your husband would appreciate that?”</p><p>There was no way of convincing Eileen, just as there was no way of stopping Tobias, while Severus only sat in a corner, probably terrified. This scene was the last thing Draco intended for him to witness.</p><p>And while Draco didn’t pay attention to Tobias just for a second, he suffered a very harsh blow into his stomach next, possibly breaking a rib if not two.</p><p>“I am from the future, and I owe your son even more than a life-debt. He’s my only family. If you can read my mind you’ll know I’m not lying,” Draco in the meanwhile tried to convince Eileen no matter what it took. “And he’ll be unhappy here, Eileen, just as you already are now, hurting. Please, let me just help you both.”</p><p>“You’re too young to understand. I’ll save you, but you should leave us alone and never come back. We’re the only family Severus needs,” Snape’s mom said, before she pointed a wand at Draco, and banished Draco out of the house.</p><p>Banishing spells were relatively easy, but if you didn’t want those spells to just empty the sent content into a void, never to be seen again, they could be extremely difficult. Even biding together the particles of a mass you banished, keeping them intact could be an effort.</p><p>So it was strictly forbidden to use it as human transportation, and as Draco had found himself on the Muggle pavement grunting in pain, unable to move, but also extremely lucky to be even still alive, he first considered how it was a terrible mistake to interfere.</p><p>He’d never heard about anyone being immune to magic who wasn’t part Giant or a creature of some sort, but he should have approached Eileen when Tobias wasn’t home first.</p><p>Only, he couldn’t stand to see Severus get hurt, even if it put them all in jeopardy now. Maybe Lucius was right all along, calling Draco too soft to be a proper wizard. And maybe the future was immutable, after all.</p><p>“What in the name of Godric has happened to you?” Potter in the Drawing Room jumped to his feet when he saw Draco, who was glad he could even Apparate home in the state he was in before he collapsed again.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I would like to thank everyone for reading and all your kind support! </p><p>I hope you could forgive me if Severus is a relatively clever 4-year-old, who can at least express himself in complete sentences, and you know, generally more grown-up as we'll see in the upcoming chapters as well?</p><p>XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry healed Malfoy’s broken bones and bruises when the blond got home yesterday, but he still didn't regain consciousness, when a stranger appeared on the property.</p><p>Harry was out front, trying to fix the wards, contemplating calling a Healer to see Draco if his condition wouldn't improve soon when a woman appeared.</p><p>“Are you a relative of Draco Malfoy? Is he here? I need to talk to him. Now.”</p><p>“I’m not his relative, no. But he’s… “ Harry almost admitted Malfoy was sick when as far as he knew, this woman could have been the one who attacked him. “Unavailable at the moment, you should come back later.”</p><p>“My name is Eileen Snape, who are you?” she asked.</p><p>“I’m… Harry,” Harry deliberately omitted his last name, trying not to stare at the witch. Now that she said who she was, he could see some likeness to a certain Professor.</p><p>“Well then, Harry Malfoy, tell your partner that I know he stole my child, so he should come out and talk to me before I go in and burn his house down if necessary to find my son.”</p><p>“I’m not… we’re not partners,” Harry prayed he didn’t blush while saying that, but also, he was trying to understand what had Draco gotten himself into. “And apart from myself, 2 elves and Draco, I can assure you there is no one else on this property.”</p><p>“Well then, where is my child?!” she demanded. “Where else could he have taken him? Or do you think it’s a coincidence your <i>friend</i> shows up telling me he would offer me and Severus sanctuary from my own husband, and the next morning my son disappears when I refuse?”</p><p>Harry clearly should have monitored Malfoy not trying to change the past drastically, it seemed.</p><p>“Mrs. Snape, I don’t know what happened to your son, but if it was this morning, it couldn’t have been Malfoy,” he admitted. “He came home badly hurt yesterday, and hasn’t been up since.”</p><p>In a blink, Harry felt an intrusion to his mind, but she never actually spoke a spell, and she was gone as soon as Harry noticed her poking around in his head.</p><p>“So you’re from the future as well,” she noted less furious, which ironically made her look only older. “But if it wasn’t him taking my son, I don’t know where Severus is… you need to help me, or I’ll report you both to the Ministry.”</p><p>“I’ll help you, but only because you’re worried about your kid, otherwise I don’t respond well to threats,” Harry warned her. “I need to know what happened.”</p><p>“I’d rather not waste time telling you,” she said. “So I hope you didn’t have a big lunch yet.”</p><p>She pushed her memories into Harry’s mind of last night, but all at once, which indeed make Harry nauseous. Not to mention, more concerned for Malfoy. </p><p>“You could have killed him! What were you thinking? Banishing a wizard when it’s not even allowed on small creatures?” Harry asked her, upset.</p><p>“I thought you said he wasn’t your partner! And I spelled him out of the house to save him, so there is no need to thank me!” she yelled back, and Harry could see the Snape family resemblance much more clearly than before.</p><p>“I’ll need to instruct the elf taking care of him to give him some regeneration potions. His cells might be in pieces for all we know!” Harry tried to not waste time arguing, although it took an effort. No wonder his crude diagnostic spells didn’t show anything wrong with Malfoy when his body could have been damaged in such a low scale.</p><p>Then he returned to Eileen, ready to help her but also tempted to not help her at all, when he’d noticed she had a strong Disillusionment charm on. And under it, she was so badly beaten, she could barely stand. She looked worse than Draco.</p><p>“Merlin, you’re in no condition to walk around,” he couldn’t help but took a step towards her, but that only made her flinch as if he was about to hurt her too, until she schooled her expression back to neutral, noticeably Occluding.</p><p>“I heal quickly, I’m a Pureblood witch,” she hissed at him.</p><p>Harry wasn’t convinced she should be up at all, but she was so adamant. And since there was no magical residue of anyone taking Severus, Harry and Eileen went out to look for Severus in the neighborhood, splitting up to cover more ground.</p><p>Harry only noticed he had found the Muggle park from Snape’s memories once he was already walking on the grass. And soon he caught a glimpse of Severus hiding behind a tree, seemingly unharmed. So he could send a Patronus to Eileen telling her where he was.</p><p>“You’re magic,” Severus probably saw it, because he cautiously came out from his hiding place, but kept a great distance from Harry.</p><p>“Severus, your mom is worried sick. You just disappeared without telling her where you went,” Harry explained, trying to use simple words, unsure about Severus’ vocabulary.</p><p>“I was here,” little Severus took a step further. “A wizard with flashy hair and magic came, and I was so happy because I only ever get to see Mum and Muggles, but he made everything go real bad… But I’m hungry and…”</p><p>He cut himself off, but it was obvious to Harry. He had been this kid, he knew exactly what happened, even if he didn’t attempt to run away from the Dursleys first until he was 7.</p><p>“You couldn’t remember which way you came from, right?” he squatted in front of the kid, trying not to intimidate him with his height, making Severus only nod.</p><p>“You have ugly clothes too,” he pointed at Harry, but all that was forgotten, when Eileen Apparated right next to them. First, she checked if Severus wasn’t hurt in any way, then hugged him close, with tears in her eyes, telling him he should never do something like this again.</p><p> Harry couldn’t help but notice she only could wince when Severus hugged her tightly back because she had still bruises (if not broken bones) that haven’t healed yet.</p><p>When he finally got back to Malfoy, and the blond was awake, he knew he needed to have a long and taxing talk with him, but wasn’t sure if the blond was up for it yet. Maybe Harry wasn’t either.</p><p>“Morning, Sleeping Beauty, do you think you’re able to join me for dinner downstairs?”</p><p>“Only you could be such a troll, Potter, intending an insult and ending up with a compliment.”</p><p>Harry could have yelled at the blond then, but only because it didn't sit well with him how Draco put himself in grave danger only to then pretend as if nothing happened, taking it too lightly.</p><p>“Well, Eileen Snape came to visit while you were napping, and was convinced I was your boyfriend if not husband,” Harry turned back from the door. “So what does that say about you then?"</p><p>He wasn't expecting a reply, but Draco must have been high on some regeneration potion ingredient because Harry heard him say.</p><p>"It's not like I would turn you down if you'd be really offering. I like to surround myself with simple people, take Crabbe and Goyle for instance."</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After dinner, Potter seemed to handle their talk about "what did go wrong?" as an adult, not yelling and even listening to what Draco had to say. Until he didn’t, and Draco was forced to recap.</p>
<p>“We agreed. You said we can change the future.”</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>“And we agree Severus deserves better.”</p>
<p>“Probably.”</p>
<p>“Then the only thing you can be so concerned about is my well-being,” Draco laughed because even the idea was ridiculous. But he didn’t see any possible other explanation.</p>
<p>“I can’t believe you fail to see the consequences of your actions, Malfoy,” Potter’s voice was resigned. “Even if I wasn’t worried, which I was, what did you expect to accomplish? You break into their family home in the middle of the night, threaten her husband, and tell Eileen to pack her things and her son because she’s coming with you, an 18-year-old stranger?”</p>
<p>“Well then, I’m sorry to have scared you,” Draco said, maybe even grinning to hide his irritation as only a Slytherin would. “But Tobias was trying to hurt his son and I will not stand for that. No matter what you say, or how your new-found concern for me goes, I will do—“</p>
<p>“Alright, so you figured it out,” Potter huffed, suddenly pulling Draco close by the edge of his sweater with a look in his eyes that didn't promise anything good. “I am attracted to you Malfoy, and I care about you just enough that I don’t want to see you die a horrible death. Could you stop constantly teasing me about it and make me understand—“</p>
<p>“You <i>are</i> attracted to me?” Draco blinked, because it could have been a confession, had it not come from Potter, and with such an angry tone.</p>
<p>“Yes, I’m gay!!! And so is Merlin only knows how many other wizards, it’s completely <i>NORMAL</i>—“</p>
<p>“I didn’t…  I wasn’t trying to make fun of you. At least not in a sense you think,” Draco quickly said because Potter did seem close to cursing him again. And he didn’t want to die over this particular misunderstanding.</p>
<p>“Oh, then what kind of way did you want to have fun at my expense?”</p>
<p>“That I’m not straight either, but I thought you were?” Draco hesitantly said. Just to feel his whole face heat up when Potter's eyes stared at him in disbelief. “Yet you made me sleep in the same bed, almost shower with you watching—“</p>
<p>“For the record, there were no rooms with twin beds available, and I was never going to watch you take a shower!” Potter declared. “And only because I though Parkinson was your girlfriend if not future wife!”</p>
<p>“Funnily, my father probably would have made me marry her. Severus was the only one who knew and accepted me,” Draco had to bite his cheek from carrying on with that thought. </p>
<p>Once Harry had yelled the truth in his face and Draco reciprocated similarly, it was hard to stop more things from just spilling out. </p>
<p>But having one thing common didn’t mean he could trust Potter wouldn’t try to interfere with Draco’s plans, so if anything, he should wisely shut up now.</p>
<p>Although, if sharing was a weakness, Potter just became a target himself. Maybe Draco could use it to his advantage, but how?</p>
<p>“I came here only to save him,” Draco sighed after some minutes of deep silence. “And I will. Tobias won’t stop me, nor Eileen. Not even you.”</p>
<p>“Eileen did seem resolute not to leave her husband,” Harry pointed out.</p>
<p>“I don’t care.”</p>
<p>“So you’d steal a kid from his parents?”</p>
<p>“Well, probably not today, it’s getting late,” Draco noted, even though he had slept so much knocked out by the potions he didn’t at all felt tired. </p>
<p>He was about to leave Harry with that thought. Maybe they could discuss it better later, or Draco could just get Severus and ignore the Potter's displeasure.</p>
<p>“You also said you’d sleep with me,” however, Potter had to drop a bomb, just when Draco thought they were finished for that day. “How much of that was a joke?”</p>
<p>“Why don’t you ask me directly someday and see?” Draco laughed. Salazar, maybe if Potter was abysmal in bed, he could be finally over this stupid crush once and for all. “But only if you truly want to hear the answer.”</p>
<p>He didn’t count on how Potter was a Gryffindor, closing the distance between them next, kissing him. Making Draco fight for the dominance of the kiss, then almost have him on the dining table in return.</p>
<p>“If we do this,” he had to stop the Boy-Who-Lived before he himself won’t be able to stop either. “I demand we don't do it on a fucking table, and it can only be a one-time thing. We get it out of our system, and we’re done.”</p>
<p>“Such a nag,” Harry muttered, but it sounded more endearing than insulting and he picked Draco up only to drop him on his own sheets, clearly able to follow commands if he wanted to.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, as amateurish as Potter was with the appropriate charms, he more than made up for it with his enthusiasm, and if anything, it was the best sex Draco had in his entire life.</p>
<p>Arguably not useful if it meant to make him forget about Harry. If anything, Draco only then made contact with certain bodyparts of Potter that were crowding his mind later, making him unable to forget.</p>
<p>Although, the next morning at breakfast, their conversation was the most amiable they have ever had, and Potter seemed keen on keeping the promise of not bringing up their activities of the previous night in any way.</p>
<p>If Draco knew taming Potter was this simple, he would have done it a long time ago. And if it was needed he would unapologetically use this knowledge to persuade Harry about saving Severus as well.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Finally? I hope you're all happy to see where this is going, guys! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eileen was ready to shut the door right on Draco’s face no matter how Tobias wasn’t around when Harry stopped her.</p>
<p>“Ah, so you’re with him this time, why am I not surprised?” she asked without even saying hello. “Well then, it only means you also have to go.”</p>
<p>“I’d rather you let us in so we can talk,” Harry said, thinking of Aunt Petunia of all the sudden. “Before the neighbors see two strange men at your doorstep.”</p>
<p>“5 minutes, but only because I owe you for helping me,” she sighed as if giving up. “And if for any reason my husband would show up, you both need to Apparate out without him even seeing you were here.”</p>
<p>“You made that quite clear the last time,” Draco assured her.</p>
<p>“Great,” she said curtly, no humor in her voice.</p>
<p>“Mom? Should they be here?” the conversation naturally halted when Severus appeared, timidly asking.</p>
<p>“Maybe Draco could take Severus somewhere else while we talk,” Harry proposed.</p>
<p>“I’m not letting my child out of my sight, especially not with him.”</p>
<p>“I have memories that were given to me by your son in the future,” Harry looked directly in her eyes and hoping she can read it without little Severus hearing.</p>
<p>He swore he won’t surrender those memories to anyone, as surely Snape wouldn’t want anyone to see, but in this case, Harry was technically trying to save small Severus from his own future, so he broke the only rule.</p>
<p>“And what are you trying to accomplish, offering them up to me now?” Eileen replied by using Legilimency as well. “If I’m right and you—“</p>
<p>“I want to see for yourself what kind of future he will have and decide if it’s the life you imagined for him,” Harry told her. </p>
<p>“There is no way I’m—“</p>
<p>“I will not push you. But I think at least you should be aware of what your choices really mean if you’re going to make them.”</p>
<p>“And what about your partner? Will he also respect my decision, even if it's not what he wanted?”</p>
<p>“I will also deal with him, if I have to,” Harry just mentally sighed. He hoped Eileen would see a reason to at least negotiate with Draco, but if not, Harry also wasn’t looking forward to policing Malfoy.</p>
<p>“You mean that, at least,” Eileen frowned, and turned to her son. “Severus, I have something important to discuss with Harry Malfoy here. Until then, this blond wizard will take you to the park, okay?”</p>
<p>“Potter… His name is Harry James Potter!” Malfoy’s expression darkened. “And I want to participate in the discussion as well.”</p>
<p>“Maybe you could take Severus out to eat something,” Harry had to navigate a relatively thin line between Eileen and Draco. “But only if he didn’t have a big breakfast yet.”</p>
<p>Severus looked at his mother for permission, but his stomach gave a large growl. And not even Malfoy could insist to take Severus out somewhere nice, Harry just knew it.</p>
<p>Which didn’t stop Draco from giving him a very irritated glare, before he explained to Severus how Side-Apparation works and they were gone.</p>
<p>“It’s easier if you don’t fight me, just let me into your mind,” Eileen gestured to a chair for Harry before she sat.</p>
<p>“I know,” Harry just said, uncomfortable already.</p>
<p>Eileen didn’t ask how, rather, she already started, and saw memories of Occlumency lessons Harry had with Snape.</p>
<p>“He was trying to teach you as a favor but you behaved like a child. You despise Severus!” she declared, pulling back. “Leave! I’ll fetch my son, I have a tracing charm on him now, and I don’t want you or Malfoy to ever come back here!”</p>
<p>“Admittedly, I did hate him. Just as he hated me,” Harry quickly explained, terrified she won’t hear him out. “But all that has changed, you can check. I wouldn’t be here otherwise. Please don’t throw me out before you know the whole story.”</p>
<p>She seemed almost ready to curse Harry out of the house, but then she dove into his mind again, with a speed that left Harry wincing.</p>
<p>She not only took Harry’s memories of Snape’s memories, but Dumbledore talking about Voldemort, memories of the war, and some memories of Harry’s life, and she was about to even access memories of what happened between Harry and Draco just the night before when Harry pushed her back.</p>
<p>It was hard to tell if hours passed or only minutes, and when they were finished, both of them were panting. Not to mention Eileen still looked furious with Harry.</p>
<p>“From what I’ve seen, all I have to do is make sure he’ll never meet your mother and he’d be better off.”</p>
<p>“You could. But she was his only friend when he needed someone,” Harry said. “And you’ve also seen some of my childhood. Shielding Severus from Lily won’t protect him from Tobias. Nor would it protect you.”</p>
<p>“You’re saying I should give my son up to a stranger.”</p>
<p>“You could also move in with us,” Harry tried to mention that as softly as he could.</p>
<p>“I can’t. My husband was the only one who ever noticed me and stood by me even when my own family cursed me out. Everything we own, he worked for it, and I just…”</p>
<p>Harry saw how painful it was for her to even consider.</p>
<p>“Then it doesn’t have to be permanent. Let Draco take Severus only for smaller periods of time first. You could even tell your husband Severus is with an old neighbor lady who volunteered to watch him and see how they get along.“</p>
<p>“And I could say I also want to work to make some money,” Eileen said. “Not because it would make such a difference, but it would give me a good enough reason when I tell Tobias.”</p>
<p>“So you’re going to do it?”</p>
<p>“Are you sleeping with Malfoy?” she shot back.</p>
<p>“It’s not what you think,” Harry tried to deny it, but she put up her hand to stop him. “We—“</p>
<p>“I’m only asking because if you aren’t a package deal, who would take care of my son together, then I'll only allow you to take him.”</p>
<p>Harry was sure he must have misheard that.</p>
<p>“I never said that I would—” he almost told Eileen there was no way he would want to be responsible for ruining a young wizard’s life by taking care of them, given that he knew shit about how a happy family should look like, but then Malfoy would kill him no doubt.  Slowly and painfully. “You’ve seen how we didn’t get along with your son.”</p>
<p>“Yet you’re the one who would treat him fairly. I can sense these things. Your partner might mean well and care for Severus deeply, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't pamper my son or could keep his cool if Severus was in danger, like he couldn't when I first met him. So I want to know how involved you two are, and please don’t insult me by lying.”</p>
<p>If Harry thought talking with Malfoy after what happened between them made him truly uncomfortable, he was wrong.</p>
<p>Recounting truthfully what happened to <i>Snape’s mother</i>, yet trying to indicate they would take care of Severus <i>together</i> - just to get her to agree for both Draco's and Severus' sake - was so much worse.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks, everyone, for all the nice kudos and comments!</p><p>+Happy Labour Day! (for those countries who have it today) </p><p>I got so hyped not having to work for these 3 consecutive days (long weekend, finally!), that I have already written a double chapter update today.</p><p>Promise me you'll read both together, the second is cuter? XD Anyway, hope you guys will like it! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Potter for once did the right thing and let Eileen think he didn’t despise Draco. </p><p>Still, Draco’s heart broke whenever Eileen came to pick up her son for the evenings, taking Severus away.</p><p>He had to admit though until he could come up with a better plan, even this arrangement was better than not seeing Severus at all.</p><p>First, he could establish that they had 3 regular meals every day, even Potter joining them, so Severus finally didn’t have any skipped meals anymore.</p><p>It also took Draco weeks to convince Severus he could speak up whenever he wanted, and that he was allowed to take any book from the Library without asking first, but soon Severus was reading the book titles himself, and often brought heavy tomes to Draco to read them for him.</p><p>Draco also wanted to buy better clothes for Severus. Eileen was working now, and they could just as well tell Tobias it was from her paycheck as long it wasn’t a fancy garment and it could pass as a Muggle style, but that didn’t go as he planned.</p><p>When they got to Diagon Alley, however, Severus grabbed Draco’s hand much stronger and hid behind him any time another magical just passed them on the street, looking terrified and almost crying, so Draco quickly took him home.</p><p>He originally planned to set up a Potions laboratory letting Severus choose a Cauldron and simple ingredients for himself, but until Draco hadn’t gained his trust a little bit better so that he could support Severus to ease into the crowded, noisy street of Diagon Alley, Draco decided to wait.</p><p>For now, he got a starters kit of Potions in one room, asking Severus if he wanted to try anything that was in the Potions books they read.</p><p>Severus just bought back the Tales of Beedle the Bard for him to read with a very serious expression, so Draco didn't push brewing.</p><p>It was sometimes hard for Draco to know whether he was expecting too much from a four-year-old, Severus still very young, or doing him a disservice. </p><p>While Severus was just a kid, he already knew a lot about the topics he was interested in and had a very active imagination to theorize about the things he didn’t.</p><p>However, the blond wizard tried to encourage Severus to freely ask him about anything, and once Severus knew it was safe to, he bombarded Draco with questions about everything.</p><p>And these questions were also a clue where Severus’ mind was wondering, which was a help, and Draco estimated Severus learned this way more than if they had hired him a tutor. </p><p>Draco as a Pureblood had one ever since he could walk, right until he went to Hogwarts, and then kept shadowing Lucius for the summers, learning from him. </p><p>He could afford it too, but mostly he was opposed to the idea because this way, he could spend more time with Severus.</p><p>Only, the kid didn’t seem to ask questions about magic, and magical customs, but sometimes questions that Draco didn’t find so easy to answer.</p><p>
  <i>“Why does this book say 1971?” “Do all parents fight?” “Why don’t Muggle’s have elves?” “Are you and Harry sleeping together?” “Is it bad that my father is just a Muggle?”</i>
</p><p>Draco, who didn’t have to think about the last one ever for himself, always just repeating Lucius’ ideas whenever he was talking, especially felt the pressure on how important it was what he will tell Severus about it.</p><p>But Severus was a half-blood, Potter as well, and Draco didn’t feel as if he was better than Granger for instance. If anything, the witch was smarter and more capable, although Draco would never admit to that with Potter present.</p><p>Not to mention, Draco had seen where theories of Pureblood Supremacy had led magicals and not only didn’t want any part of that, the idea that Severus would get into it once again scared him even more.</p><p>One day out of blue, Eileen had bought Severus over with a small pile of neatly-folded clothes.</p><p>“I need you to take him for a couple of weeks, even for the nights. I trust it’s no trouble for you.”</p><p>Draco had to scold his features not to show how glad he was to hear that. Maybe Potter was right, and Eileen would trust him with Severus after all, if it was a gradual process, and he just had to be patient.</p><p>And he could be just that if it meant he could keep Severus away from Tobias once and for all, giving Severus a home.</p><p>But that was when the troubles also started. Severus barely ate, and almost threw a tantrum when Draco tried to tell him to at least finish the tiny amount he already had on his plate. Severus, who was otherwise reserved, quiet and never disobeyed anything Draco said before.</p><p> Then, as they were sitting at the Library table, Draco reading about werewolves - the topic Severus asked for many times before, even if Draco didn’t right away start with it, thinking the concept might scare a 4-year-old - Severus was just sitting there with an empty expression, staring into nothing.</p><p>Draco always used a Doubling Charm on the books they read, so Severus could follow for himself the text as Draco was reading, but Severus stopped turning the pages, and didn't seem keen to continue either.</p><p>“Is there something else you would like to read, Severus? Some fiction about witches and wizards?” Draco noticed when Severus was tired of studying, a good story always made him energetic again, even if Draco didn’t think much about novels.</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Then what should we do? Is there something you’d like to play?” Draco asked. </p><p>He couldn’t remember ever playing games as a child, so he didn’t have many ideas, but Severus missed his mother, if not his father as well (which was not a happy thought for Draco, but it could happen).</p><p>“I just want to be alone,” Severus said.</p><p>“Surely, there is something you’d like to do… Should I tell the elves to make a cake?”</p><p>Severus was ecstatic when the elves prepared a cake for dessert once, declaring it was his favorite food “ever”. Since then, Draco ordered Mindy to have a different cake prepared for every week.</p><p>“NO! I don’t want anything!”</p><p>And, if Draco wasn’t feeling bad enough seeing Severus' agitated state, it was when Potter chose to waltz in.</p><p>In the last couple of weeks, Potter had worked as a crazed-elf around the house. He updated the cottage wards, weeded out the flowerbeds, fixed some leaking pipes on the first floor. Replanted the vegetables in the green-house, got rid of a Pixie infestation in the attic, repainted the Muggle fence. Repaired the Extension Charm in the Dining Room where it was shrinking back slowly, then repaired the structure of the walls where they were damaged because of it. He even had found shelter underground in the back - housing some magical junk of the previous owners - when he cut down the grass with a spell.</p><p>All of this work had kept him far away from Library, only to show up when Severus was yelling at Draco, clearly upset.</p><p>“What’s going on, Malfoy?” he asked, his stare bearing holes into Draco as if Draco had done something wrong. And maybe he did, but he didn't appreciate Potter pointing it out.</p><p>Like it was Draco who didn’t even speak to Severus since he got there, and avoided him like plague not counting the meals they all shared.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Stay out of this, Potter,” Malfoy only said, giving him an irritated stare, while Harry considered doing just that.</p><p>But little Snape was sitting on an elegant chair that was too big for him and seemed just as troubled as in his memories when James Potter was taunting him in front of everyone.</p><p>And Eileen did entrust the kid originally to Harry, even if she must have later realized it was Draco who took care of him.</p><p>Even if Harry tried to keep his distance, trusting the blond wizard will take care of everything since he’d asked for this, he couldn’t just leave.</p><p>So he pulled out a chair next to the Library table, sitting down a few chairs up from the kid. So much for a bit quiet reading, after he had spent two hours in the attic, cleaning up centuries-old dust and curses (not to mention Pixie "dust"), it seemed.</p><p>“What have you and Draco been doing lately, Severus?” he asked.</p><p>“Reading books,” Severus answered.</p><p>“And what else?”</p><p>“Nothing. Only reading.”</p><p>Harry knew Draco was teaching Severus about a lot of things, but he guessed they also had some breaks. He couldn’t help but throw a glance at Malfoy, who just defiantly stared back as if he wanted to curse Harry to pieces, but so far didn’t interfere.</p><p>“Is there anything else you’d like to do?” Harry had no idea what someone like Severus Snape wanted to do with his free time when he was just 4, but maybe the kid had some ideas, and Harry could just leave them with Draco to it.</p><p>“Can I maybe spend the day with you?”</p><p>Headmaster Severus Snape would have despised Harry even more if he knew Harry went back to his past and how the kid Severus wanted to spend time with Harry for some reason, giving him a hopeful look. </p><p>Maybe it was because Harry tried to avoid the kid most of the time, and generated only more curiosity compared to Draco, who was always with Severus.</p><p>“You really should ask Draco about anything you want to do, I’m quite busy with things that would only bore you, and he’s the one taking care of you,” Harry knew Draco wanted what was best for Severus, even if his schedule was probably taxing for a child.</p><p>However, Draco and Severus should discuss that with each other. Just as Harry would then later also talk with Malfoy, advising him to take some breaks with Severus, but not with the kid present.</p><p>“<i>Pleeease.</i>” Severus climbed off the chair, standing in front of Harry. “I don’t mind boring. And Draco can also come.”</p><p>“Severus is right, you can surely take a break from things I didn't even ask you to do,” Draco unexpectedly chimed in. “The elves might soon rebel if you leave them without any work.”</p><p>Harry wanted to tell Malfoy he won’t take any money from him if he didn’t work for it at least, but Severus got so excited hearing they’d spend some time together he didn’t want to revert to their usual banter in front of the child.</p><p>“I have found two working brooms in the shed,” he mentally sighed, turning to Severus. “Maybe Draco could teach you how to fly, and I can watch you play.”</p><p>Only, both brooms were full-size and battered as they were, they still flew quite fast for a complete beginner, and Harry didn’t think about that. He only saw a broom at age 11, and being a natural, never had any concerns...</p><p>“I can charm extra cushioning on them, so Severus could join one of us,” Draco noted. “Rather than letting a four-year-old fly alone.”</p><p>“Well, I’m sorry I wanted him to get some fresh air when you keep him glued to books the whole day!” the sentence was out on Harry’s mouth before he could rethink it.</p><p>“Just so you know, when I was a kid, and Severus was taking care of me, that’s <i>all</i> that we did, even when I was his age,” Malfoy didn’t seem entertained by Harry’s complaint. “Reading books and preparing potions together. So I think older Severus would approve. But if you know so much about how magical children supposed to be raised, then go ahead, spend time with him. Just don’t let him get hurt, and be sure not to miss dinner.”</p><p>“Wait,” Harry stepped in front of Draco, touching him until he realized what he was doing and quickly let go. “Maybe we could have a game. Me and Severus competing with you.”</p><p>“I might not be Saint Potter, but if you ride with Severus, your balance will be off, and you’ll be much slower,” Malfoy now smiled an evil smile, which Harry didn’t know he could miss.</p><p>But, with Malfoy being busy parenting, and Harry and him trying to act mature around one another, they didn’t have a chance to act as once they did in the last couple of months.</p><p>“You wanna bet, Malfoy? Let me get Severus, and ask him what he thinks about that.”</p><p>“We going to win, Draco!” was obviously what the kid thought, although the blond was right and Harry was at a disadvantage with Severus.</p><p>They barely scored points in the end, and Harry saw Malfoy holding back, but Severus, who barely said a word in his presence so far was so immersed in the simple Keeper’s Game that he didn’t even notice, and kept telling Harry to go faster, to turn better, to not hold back. Catching the ball Malfoy had transformed from a rock himself, even throwing it to quite a distance, considering.</p><p>Then, when they sent Severus to clean up before dinner, Malfoy had grabbed Harry by the hand and pulled him to the closest room, kissing him. What happened with the “one time only, Potter” thing?</p><p>Harry could barely forget that night, but he was doing his best. Then this, out of nowhere?</p><p>“I just wanted to thank you. Severus had been missing Eileen, but he had so much fun just now,” he told Harry as if this was any explanation for the kiss. “I want you to spend time with him as well.”</p><p>“Look, now that he saw how good of a flyer you were, you don’t need me,” Harry said.</p><p>“I’m talking about how <i>Severus</i> needs you. I can educate him about almost anything he would like to know, but he likes you.”</p><p>“For now, only because I rescued him from a strict curriculum you were setting,” Harry muttered under his nose.</p><p>“You don’t think there is more to you than your good looks and Quidditch moves?” Draco suddenly was leaning quite close again, keeping eye contact, but then turning away. “Anyway, it wasn’t a request. Eileen herself said you’ll have to be involved, and you promised. Plus, I still employ you. So if I tell you to be a babysitter for a couple of hours every day, you’ll do it without as much of as a single complaint.”</p><p>And he left before Harry could even react to the compliment if not the order he was just given as if he was indeed just an elf.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sometimes I don't know how did I end up writing the things I did. This chapter seems to be one of those times, I'm sorry... <strike>I mean Harry certainly didn't ride the Dragon... yet...</strike> LOL</p><p>Thank you guys for being so positive with all the comments and kudos you send on my way! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry thought Draco had magical activities covered with Severus, so he tried to think what Muggles would do with their kids.</p><p>He charmed the grass with a strong repellant spell one afternoon and used it as a trampoline with Severus. He transfigured two garden poles to posts and played soccer - for the first time in his life as well.</p><p>He almost got a heart attack when Severus tripped over his clothes once falling on the ball, but when he ran to the kid expecting crying, Severus threw the transfigured ball at him with a small evil smile, soccer completely forgotten, playing dodgeball instead.</p><p>Then he got the idea to use the goal as a base for a swing set of two, which Severus liked so much Harry made the transfiguration permanent.</p><p>“Can we also play something else?” Severus asked, making Harry realize he zoned out while the kid was expectantly looking at him from the other swing. “With Mum, we used to read stories. And sometimes pretend we were characters.”</p><p>“We can do that,” Eileen had said she’s going to be leaving for a couple of weeks, but then she disappeared, and they haven’t heard from her since, so there was no way Harry would deny Severus such a simple request. “If you could be anyone in the world, who do you think you’d be?”</p><p>“Maybe the son of the Queen.”</p><p>“Ambitious,” Harry couldn’t help but laugh. Some things might have changed, but Severus was still a Slytherin, it seemed. Why else would he pick the son of probably the most important person he knew?</p><p>“Or the next Headmaster of Hogwarts.”</p><p>Harry's laughter was cut short.</p><p>“Maybe tomorrow we can have some people over from the Queen’s court,” he automatically chose the other option. “What do <i>you</i> usually do in the palace in your free time, <i>Prince of England</i>, young sir?”</p><p>He even fake bowed with a funny gesture, making Severus straighten his back as if he was indeed noble, which made him smile.</p><p>“Important people of other countries come to visit often,” Severus said. “And we have the fanciest tea parties.”</p><p>“Well, I know it’s nothing you’re used to, your Royal Highness, but maybe we can invite you for tea in our poor home. Only, I’ll have to ask the servants to prepare the biscuits and the tea and update the decorations, so if you don’t mind, we shall have it tomorrow.”</p><p>“Will there be also cake? And guests?” were only Severus’ questions.</p><p>“It wouldn’t be a tea party otherwise,” Harry made a mental note to ask Malfoy to join.</p><p>Who, to his credit, even tried to invite Eileen, but when she didn’t respond, decided to spend all morning with the preparations. He transformed the dining room chairs, decorations, and even the wallpaper to appear more luxurious.</p><p>“He said he’s the prince, and you were some kind of servant, correct?”</p><p>Harry just gave Draco a warning look because of the tone, making Malfoy dial back on it a notch.</p><p>“I'm asking because I <i>have to be</i> a royal then. Maybe some distant cousin. Someone has to be able to tell him if he ate too much cake, after all, since that can’t be the butler,” he said, transforming his clothes to a dress, and his hair long.</p><p>Harry tried not to stare, really. Malfoy almost could pass for a beautiful witch now, but Harry knew full-well he wasn’t one, and that even made Harry find him more attractive.</p><p>Except, if he was worried about Severus’ upbringing, seeing Draco like this wouldn’t mess with his head? And if so, and Harry was to tell Malfoy he should be a <i>male</i> royal, wouldn't he hurt Draco instead?</p><p>Harry kept worrying about the topic ever since yesterday when Severus asked for a fake tea-party. As far as Harry knew, it was an activity for girls. What if both of them being gay meant Severus didn't have a strong male model in his life now?</p><p>Luckily, his hesitation only meant Malfoy transformed Harry’s clothes for him as well, resembling a butler’s, except Harry was sure Draco never really saw one in real life, maybe not even on pictures.</p><p>“Think about what you’re doing, young Prince,” Draco told Severus later when he was still looking back and forth from the exuberant decorations and Draco’s dress. “You’re asking a humble servant to join our table.”</p><p>“I know, but Harry is a good servant,” Severus defended Harry, and then added. “You should just get to know him a little better to see.”</p><p>“Just this once. Sit down and tell us about your humble life, Mr. Potter,” Draco gestured to a chair next to him, and Harry almost felt like he wasn’t even fully acting.</p><p>“My life may be humble now, ma'am, but when I was younger, I had quite many adventures,” Harry decided he won’t be underestimated either.</p><p>“What kind? What did you do, Mr. Butler?” Severus was, of course, all ears.</p><p>“I met a lot of creatures,” Harry started. “Half-giants, werewolves, and even witches.”</p><p>“Those creatures, I’m afraid, belong only to fairy tales, not to the royal court,” Draco took a sip from his cup, and Harry was both irritated and amused by it.</p><p>“I want to hear,” Severus, however, didn’t seem to care. “What was your scariest adventure?”</p><p>“Oh, I had many interesting fights, young Prince. I rode a dragon, fought a Troll, and faced the fury of a Transfiguration teacher who had found me outside my house quarters in the middle of the night,” Harry even changed his voice, only noticing later how much he sounded like Dumbledore when he was talking to young Harry. Keeping things from him, thinking Harry was too young to know. So he quickly stopped, trying to channel Remus a bit instead. “But the scariest of it all was a creature called the Boggart. I had met one living in a cupboard, and it shows everyone their greatest fear.”</p><p>“And what did you see?” Severus forgot all about his tea, even his biscuits.</p><p>“Fear itself,” Harry admitted. “But now it would probably show me something else.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Time for you to finish your plate, young man,” Draco announced before Harry could consider - again - how much truth he should let a 4-year-old know.</p><p>“I won’t, not until Harry tells me,” Severus, on the other hand just crossed his arms, pouting. “What can be worse?”</p><p>Memories flashed before Harry’s eyes of the dead, and the excruciating grief he felt, and the knowledge that as Master of Death, even if he bought back the people they have lost, like Lupin and Tonks and Fred, they’d be never the same as before.</p><p>Maybe if Harry didn’t end up in the past because of Malfoy, he would have tried something even more stupid.</p><p>“There are a lot of things that could be scary, Severus. So why don’t we just ask the elves for some music, I’m sure your royal cousin and you can show me some dances of the court.”</p><p>“Tell me, <i>please!</i>”</p><p>“I guess… losing someone you care about can be extremely scary, Severus,” Harry decided he won’t be like Dumbledore, after all. He may not go into the details of war, but he won’t lie either.</p><p>“That’s why you should always fight for the ones you love, young Prince. No matter what anyone thinks or says,” Draco told Severus but was keeping eye-contact with Harry, probably trying to indicate this is why they agreed to change the future in the first place. “Now how about that dance?”</p><p>"We should also teach Harry," Severus then pulled Draco in front of Harry, who was sitting at the table still. "You did say, ma'am, that only today he can join us."</p><p> That's how Harry found himself slow-dancing with Malfoy, praying it wasn't obvious how he became rock-hard just by holding the dressed up Draco so close, hoping it was hidden under all the layers of his transformed clothes. </p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you everyone for reading! I treasure your comments and kudos, guys. XOXO</p><p>+ I changed school to pre-school ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This must be how to be a Gryffindor feels like, Draco finds himself thinking one afternoon.</p><p>He was teaching Severus about a number of materials that could be used as cauldrons and the young wizard kept asking question after question, deeply immersed in the topic for about half an hour.</p><p>Only, then Potter appeared as well, sitting to the other end of the long library table. He researched Time-magic sometimes and even studied some seventh-year materials, so Draco assumed that’s what he was doing.</p><p>But his presence also distracted Draco slightly, not to mention Severus, who stopped paying any attention to his lesson the minute his favorite diversion appeared.</p><p>“You don’t need different glasses for reading?” Severus asked Harry, while he took away Harry’s book to read the title. “Why are you reading about Time magic? Can I also study it with you?”</p><p>“Severus, you should let Harry read,” Draco said, making Potter smile. They always referred to each other by their first names in the presence of Severus now, but <i>Potter</i> also seemed to appreciate it. Every time.</p><p>“You can leave him with me, I’m sure you could use a break,” he told Draco, while Severus was already taking the neat pile of books apart next to him.</p><p>As if they had an unspoken agreement with Draco over the last few weeks, every task between them was divided.</p><p>Harry let Draco educate Severus in the morning, while Draco trusted Harry would make sure Severus had plenty of exercise in the garden in the afternoon.</p><p>Harry was better directing Mindy what to cook for Severus, while Draco always took better care of telling Mindy what to have for dessert.</p><p>Harry took care of the repairs around the house (still ongoing), while Draco handled the finances.</p><p>Even when they both went and took Severus to Diagon Alley again - Draco hoped if they were both there the young wizard would tolerate the crowd better and it worked - they seamlessly ended up following this pattern.</p><p>Draco knew more about the materials and the additional spells they bought for Severus’ clothing, while Harry seemed happy to explain anything about Quidditch when they bought also a kid broom and helped Severus to be less nervous when they got him a toy wand.</p><p>It felt so natural, trusting Potter. They didn’t even have to discuss their routines as if it was evident, and they could just read each other’s mind. Draco could get used to it so easily, so sometimes he had to remind himself to snap out of it. </p><p>At one point Harry would find a way back or just move out. Relying on his help was a luxury Draco would use as long as he could, for Severus’ sake at least, but definitely couldn’t take for granted.</p><p>He could buy Potter’s time as a babysitter, but he couldn’t buy another parent for Severus.</p><p>Which made him wonder if he would be a horrible person if he seduced Harry just to make him want to stay.</p><p>But that could also go wrong very fast, and Severus deserved better than another fallout. Even now, the small child was underweight, way too quiet for his age, and had nightmares every day.</p><p>“Stay,” Severus brought Draco back from his wandering thoughts when he was ready to take care of some documents the Goblins owled him in the morning. “Maybe we could all learn Time-magic? It’s Harry’s turn to read now.”</p><p>“Is it?” Draco smiled. Severus giving Harry commands who - probably for the first time ever - had to comply with the reading Severus had assigned to him was funny on its own.</p><p>And given the look Potter was giving Draco, it seemed he knew exactly what he was thinking about.</p><p>But it was also calming in a sense, just to relax for a bit, and listen to Harry reading, letting him answer the questions Severus had.</p><p>When did Draco doze off, he didn’t know, but he woke up only hours later, in his bed.</p><p>Maybe he was so worried about the possible threat of Eileen just coming back to snatch her son away again, and getting up every time he heard Severus having a nightmare in the next room to comfort him, that Draco could really use the sleep.</p><p>But maybe thinking that if nothing terrible happened in the last three months, it’s not a sign of how something even worse was in a making, and he really should believe it, he thought.</p><p>Even when they disagreed with Harry, it was different.</p><p>“If Purebloods learn everything from a tutor and stay at home until the age of 11, how do they socialize?” Harry asked because he wanted Draco to consider letting Severus attend some Muggle pre-school from September.</p><p>“The Pureblood families socialize, so their kids are there as well.”</p><p>“But if we do that, we will get on the radar of Voldemort even if it’s just because he would want to recruit us. And good luck explaining all the Purebloods in this era who we are.”</p><p>“I know,” Draco sighed. “And I also don’t have any legal claim on Severus as my son, so I can’t even open an account in Gringotts for him, and they’d figure that soon as well. But it means I also cannot send him to a Muggle pre-school either because we don’t have any of the paperwork they’d need for registration. Even if I thought the Muggle rubbish they teach there was worth it.”</p><p>“Knowing how to use electricity, for instance, isn't that bad,” Potter argued, and Draco let it slide. Why would he use anything other than magic, when it gave you all the tools you needed for life? “Plus, we could fake the papers. It’s not about the curriculum anyway, it’s about spending time with not just adults. Us and the elves to be exact.”</p><p>“I’d like to think Severus is smarter than most of the kids at his age.”</p><p>“He can be still lonely. And we agreed not to introduce him to my mother who was originally his first friend.”</p><p>“Well, I don’t want him to befriend a bunch of Muggles he will never see again once Hogwarts starts either,” Draco said, feeling a headache creeping in.</p><p>“We can always fake-marry, adopt Severus legally, and socialize with wizarding communities outside Britain, so we would avoid the risk of running into your grandfather, or Tom,” Harry shrugged, making Draco stare.</p><p>“Good plan, except I lost contact with Eileen months ago, and we can’t marry,” Draco noted.</p><p>“Because I’m only a half-Blood?” Harry seemed offended.</p><p>“Because what would I do then, when you returned to the future? Everyone would think it’s strange that you just suddenly disappeared, maybe thinking I killed you and ordered the elves to bury you in the back garden just next to the shed under some rose bushes or something.”</p><p>“That sounds oddly specific,” Potter said, but he with a teasing smile. “And I could always reappear to be your 36-year-younger husband in the future once again so they’d just have shut up.”</p><p>“I thought we were talking about fake marriage, not one where you’d even seek me out in the future,” Draco mentioned.</p><p>“It would be just for your money of course,” Harry winked at him, which promised something entirely different, making Draco blush.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning: this chapter displays Eileen and Tobias as horrible parents, so if you think that could be triggering for you, please don't read.</p><p>Thanks to all of you guys for reading! Stay safe XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco was in his study when Potter stormed through, with an expression as if someone died.</p><p>“Severus?”</p><p>“I sent him to his room, I doubt he saw them. But we have company. I also sent Mindy and Pinky to try to hold them up.”</p><p>“Aurors?” Draco grabbed his wand. He didn’t think the Ministry had a way of telling whether they Time-travelled with the artifact or not, but it was possible that some Unspeakables maybe could.</p><p>“Eileen with her husband, hand in hand,” Harry announced. “Since you gave her permission for the wards, she could just walk in with him. It’s only lucky for us Tobias probably can’t be Side-Alonged, so I saw them from a distance before Severus would notice.”</p><p>“Whatever they want, we can’t let them take him back,” Draco’s stomach was in a knot. If Eileen was willing to compromise the only safe place for her son, something was up. And Draco had a gut feeling he won’t like it. “Even if there is a dispute, Severus stays until we can settle it.”</p><p>“I know,” Potter said, surprisingly, when Draco expected a lecture if not some resistance, given that they weren’t Severus’ parents.</p><p>“Hey, we won’t let them do anything,” Harry noticed where Draco’s thoughts were going probably only by his frown.</p><p>“Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to be on the same page with you just this once, but-“ Draco was trying to explain how nice it was that he didn’t have to fight Potter with his restlessness this time, but that was when the Boy-Who-Lived stopped him.</p><p>And, plastered him to the closest wall, and kissed Draco with such an overwhelming force that for a second the blond even forgot who they were and what they were doing.</p><p>“That’s payback for the last time,” Harry announced, pulling away from him, but it didn’t take a sharp eye to see how Harry had to force himself to stop when he did, and not even the Draco could deny a part of him also wanted more.</p><p>But, it’s not going to happen. It couldn’t. They had more pressing issues. The Snapes were waiting for them in the Drawing room.</p><p>“Good afternoon, Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy,” Eileen said, truly standing there with her husband, looking almost cheerful which was unlike her. “This is my husband, Tobias Snape.”</p><p>“We’ve met,” Draco nodded curtly.</p><p>“So, we won’t keep you for long,” Eileen announced. “We’re extremely grateful that you helped us looking after Severus, but we’re here to get him back.”</p><p>“Sometimes he can still come to visit,” Tobias offered with a condescending smile. “But it’s time for him to come home with us.”</p><p>“I don’t see how that’s a good idea,” it was Potter who could stay calm enough to say. Draco was already so furious it was better if he didn’t ruin anything quickly by speaking his mind.</p><p>“You don’t understand. We’ve worked things out,” Eileen said. “You two helped us by having Severus away but safe, so we had time. I am-“</p><p>“That’s all very nice and good, but a child needs consistency. We can’t just take in Severus for months at a time, until you figure things out again, just to have you take him back and—“ Draco started, but Eileen just let go of Tobias’ hand.</p><p>“Show them,” she encouraged and took a step back. Draco would be lying if he said he didn’t grip his wand much tighter when Tobias took a step forward.</p><p>Then, to Draco's shock, Tobias gestured at the curtains and they moved as if the wind was moving them, except they were indoors, without any windows open.</p><p>It seemed to be a primitive levitation spell of some sort, but wandless and nonverbal, which meant even if it was a simple spell, it had to be working based on magical power none of the Muggles are supposed to have.</p><p>“I don’t understand,” Potter stated.</p><p>“When you took Severus, I promised Tobias never to do magic again, and we decided to live completely as Muggles,” Eileen explained. “But then, I got pregnant, and everything has changed. In ancient China, they sometimes bound important heirs to dragons for longer life, and in Japan, sometimes they sealed away powers of a magical creature they deemed too dangerous into something or somebody else. So I assumed that if someone had a great magical resistance, they can take on magic, even if they weren’t magical before. I wasn’t sure it would work, but as you’ve seen…”</p><p>“I still don’t get it,” Harry just shook his head. But on some level, he must have realized because his expression wasn't pleasant.</p><p>“You wove together some ancient Asian spells, and you sealed the power of your unborn child into your husband,” Draco looked at her. He could scream, hearing a magical was punished to be a Squib even before they were born, just to give Tobias magic of all people, but he couldn’t.</p><p>He needed to take care of Severus, and yelling at his birth parents was not a way to achieve that, no matter how it would have been warranted.</p><p>“Yes, so now you see, we can all live as magicals together. We will take Severus back, and I can teach both Tobias and Severus how to use magic, together. We won’t have any fights about it any longer, it's perfect,” Eileen smiled.</p><p>“It is,” Tobias kissed her face, content.</p><p>“And what about your second child?” Harry sneered. “The one who won’t have magic at all until Tobias is dead, and then probably would die not knowing how to control any of their own power?”</p><p>“I was hoping you two could adopt him,” Eileen announced. “You want a family, and you could teach him enough magic, unlike a Muggle adoption center, so when Tobias dies they’d know what to do. We could envoke the Pureblood adoption laws.”</p><p>“You mean you want money. For a magical child you already maimed,” Draco felt his anger rising so fast he didn’t even consider denying how Potter and he wasn’t a couple.</p><p>“You have more than you could spend in your entire lifetime, and you’re capable of easily making more, I saw it in your mind,” Eileen shrugged. “And since Severus will be living with us, you surely don’t want him to suffer poverty of any kind, and we’d be spending all the money we get from you on him, I think we can come to a sensible deal.”</p><p>Draco wanted to hurt Tobias badly if he couldn't Eileen, not with her condition. If Tobias was still immune to curses, and Eileen would hurt or kill Draco in return, at least he wouldn’t have to witness Severus being taken away from them.</p><p>“Give us at least a day to say goodbye to Severus, you owe us that much,” Potter grabbed Draco’s hand as if he sensed what Draco was thinking again, stopping him. “And in the meanwhile, consult the Goblins in Gringotts to draw up the adoption form for your second child, because we’re going to take him in. We’ll negotiate the price you had in mind later.”</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Second chapter today, which I was trying to do quickly not to leave you guys hanging... Our duo only finds a temporary solution first, but at least it's not so cliffy as chapter 12.</p><p>Thank you, everyone, for reading, commenting, and kudoing away, you're all the best! Hope you are all safe and sound! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“We can’t hand over Severus-“ Draco started as soon as the elves reported that the Snapes indeed left the property. He wasn’t taking any chances and Harry couldn't help but agree.</p><p>“We won’t. But we needed to buy some time, and look as if we would,” Harry said.</p><p>“So we won’t be meeting them tomorrow then?”</p><p>“We still have to, to adopt Severus’ little brother officially. Once they sign and paid for the child, if it’s a Goblin-forged document, they can’t get out of it. And if we can prove they illegally transferred the kid’s magic to a Muggle, we can petition Severus isn’t safe with their either, and force his adoption as well.”</p><p>“Yes, but we can’t,” Draco stopped him. “Even if we succeeded, we would risk Severus being taken from us in the meanwhile. Possibly for years! If at least the kid was born, we might be able to arrange it more quickly, but at this moment there is nothing we can do. And Eileen knows we're Time-travellers and won't hesitate to use it against us either.”</p><p>Harry couldn’t help but stare.</p><p>“You can’t mean that! I thought you wanted to rescue Severus because you knew what it was like to have parents <i>like that.</i> And what do you expect Tobias will do now if he gets drunk? He’s even more dangerous now if anything.”</p><p>“Yes, but I wanted to rescue <i>Severus</i>, Harry,” Malfoy never really called him by his first name without Severus being present, and Harry knew it was to make him accept something he wasn’t willing to accept. “And I would rescue this other child as well, but not if we put Severus in danger in return.”</p><p>“We can’t just-“</p><p>“We have no choice! You know it, just as I do. And I don’t know about you, but Severus’ safety is my top priority!”</p><p>“What’s wrong?” little Severus stood in the door, making them both fall silent quickly. “What’s happening?”</p><p>Surely, even if he couldn’t read their minds and moods just yet, he must have heard at least the last sentence of their conversation.</p><p>“Severus, I know you love your mom,” Harry hunkered down to face the child from his height. “But do you think if she came to take you back you’d want to go with her?”</p><p>He didn’t know what he’d do if Severus wanted to go home. But, he also couldn’t lie to Severus, when the issue concerned his future.</p><p>His worry was unfounded when Severus only shook his head.</p><p>“And is it because Draco has more money than your parents?”</p><p>“Potter!"</p><p>“No. It’s… I would like to continue studying with Draco, if I could,” Severus stated clearly and politely. “And my mom is okay but… She’s sent me away.”</p><p>“I would like to adopt you officially one day if I could, Severus,” Draco also joined them squatting down, talking to Severus quite frankly. “Only, then we have to leave. Would you like to come with me and Harry, until we can figure it out?”</p><p>A small nod and Harry just watched as Draco hugged the kid tightly, and sent Severus packing.</p><p>“I’m guessing you don’t speak French, German or Russian?” the blond asked Harry. There were translation spells, but any decent magical could tell when it was used.</p><p>“I was thinking we could go to the US,” Harry sighed, shaking his head. </p><p>“And move around in the states well, if we need to. They might find us wherever we go, anyway.”</p><p>“We transfigure our looks, and legally marry before we go,” Harry quickly said. He already joked with this once, but now it wasn’t a choice. Before Draco could object, he quickly explained. “We’d pull attention if we went as 3 strangers traveling together. However, if married, and would buy or rent any property together, having the magical documents about it…”</p><p>“As long as you know it’s only for precaution,” Draco said, giving Harry a warning look. “Not meaning that we would—“</p><p>“No, <i>of course not,</i>” Harry agreed because he definitely didn’t propose to Malfoy so lamely just now. If it was about romance, he’d go overboard, not resting until Draco was both totally embarrassed but also enchanted by the idea of marrying him. “I also have thought about a name. Fleamont was a—“</p><p>“An established wizarding family before their last member married your great-grandfather. We could re-establish it as a dynasty, claiming you were a distant and lost relative of Fleamont Potter, because even if they tested his magic - as the only living descendant - they’d find you two are truly related,” Draco finished his thought, surprising Harry. “Seriously, Potter, you imagine Purebloods care about the family name so much, but we don’t learn their histories? I could even name all the great-grandparents of the Weasleys, I just rather not.”</p><p>“So we should start the transfigurations then. How would you like to look?” Harry asked because he didn’t like the idea of changing Malfoy at all, but his looks stood out too much.</p><p>“As long as you know I’m going to charm your appearance next, I trust you can figure it out,” Malfoy just motioned for him to do it.</p><p>Given that it was dangerous transforming any human body parts, and strictly forbidden because it could easily go wrong, he seemed almost too relaxed about it.</p><p>Harry decided to change his looks to match Narcissa (and the Blacks) more - because it was already in Draco’s magic so it wasn’t such a big change as if Harry invented a look for him. The only thing he couldn’t bring himself to change was Draco’s eyes.</p><p>“Let’s hope I don’t mess this up either,” Draco announced, and in return, he pulled Lily’s magic forward in Harry’s appearance, so he ended up with low-key red, but straight hair, but also grew a couple of inches, which made him already appreciate his new looks immediately.</p><p>“We can’t change Severus much, it would be dangerous for a child.”</p><p>“No, I’ll only change his hair color to match mine, it should add to our cover,” Draco said. “But you know this all still might not be enough? They could use several rituals to find someone who is related by blood to them. Even if some take a lot of time to prepare, and some key ingredients cost a lot of money.”</p><p>Which reminded Harry how Eileen said she’d placed a tracing charm on Severus, one he also needed to break.</p><p>“I hate to say it,” Harry carefully started. “But there is one place where we could go to be safe.”</p><p>“Then don’t even say it.”</p><p>“It would be a different future now that our presence here changed everything. And even if it isn’t, we’d have Severus,” Harry insisted.</p><p>“<i>If</i> Severus would survive the trip, taken out of his own time. And who would care for him, you and the youngest Weasley? Because I would be in jail as a former servant of the Dark Lord, in case you’ve forgotten.”</p><p>Harry decided not to push the issue now when he didn’t even have a way to go back just yet.</p><p>“You might be a convict, but I could still petition for visitation rights as your husband,” he told Draco, only joking. He wouldn’t let anyone lock Malfoy up. He’d rather travel to yet another time again just to avoid that.</p><p>“<i>Oh joy,</i>” Malfoy just noted in a sarcastic voice.</p><p>Their situation wasn’t great at all, but Harry thought it couldn't be that bad, because he still found himself laughing, hearing that tone.</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi guys. Tried to skip 6 years in the story, but it didn't work - surprisingly... XD So this is a different approach.</p>
<p>Thank you all for reading! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco couldn’t say he loved the 60s New York, with all it’s big-city glory even,  but they only planned to stop there until they got the legal magical permits they needed.</p>
<p>Two men trying to check in to a Muggle hotel with a child didn’t go well. So Draco put a minor Disillusionment charm on himself and Severus, while Harry went back to MACUSA asking around for magical accommodation possibilities, and returned with an elderly wizard.</p>
<p>“You must be Draco Fleamont, my name is Jack Moss, and I told your husband I could help,” the wizard smiled and led them to a hotel, where there was a complete floor Muggles couldn’t see, rented a room for them, and didn’t let Draco pay.</p>
<p>“No, no, my treat. I would like Harry to consider the job I just offered him, so maybe you could send him in tomorrow morning for an interview?” he patted Draco’s back, and even winked at Severus, turning to leave.</p>
<p>“Really? Job interview? Paying for our room?” Draco found himself asking. Jack seemed something else, but Harry was only gone for 10 minutes tops.</p>
<p>“They have to hunt down magicals to work for them, so when he overheard I was a capable wizard who just arrived, he had at least 3 jobs in mind I could do,” Harry explained. “He might want me to do all three, come to think of it.”</p>
<p>Their room shared a door a single room which Severus happily took, leaving Draco and Harry with one bed once again.</p>
<p>“He saw our papers… I can rent another room downstairs, and you can stay here with Severus,” Harry saw Draco’s expression.</p>
<p>“I think we can make it work for a night,” Draco said because he was too tired to care, already missing the familiarity of their home.</p>
<p>He didn’t count on how that simple sentence made Harry look at him in return. Less guarded and way too honest.</p>
<p>So Draco saw in a glimpse: even though they agreed on leaving Severus’ sibling behind in the end, it was eating Harry away. He blamed himself for not being able to do more.</p>
<p>Maybe he was just terrified and as exhausted as Draco was, and his control slipped only for a second because the next minute he was Occluding and his vulnerability was gone.</p>
<p>But it made Draco react before he could stop himself, enveloping Harry to an all-too sentimental hug, that wasn’t even heated.</p>
<p>And Harry first froze, but then hugged Draco back for one second, before releasing him again.</p>
<p>“You’re sending mixed signals, you know. And it wouldn’t be a problem if we didn't share a bed, and I wouldn’t want more than just a hug next,” Harry quite Gryffindorly stated.</p>
<p>“Maybe I wouldn’t mind that either, but how long do you think it would last?”</p>
<p>“The attraction?”</p>
<p>“Any relationship between us,” Draco wasn’t used to conversation direct as this and felt quite silly talking about it. “Because after anything remotely serious, we’d be back at each other’s throats again, with Severus caught in the middle.”</p>
<p>“Right,” it seemed Harry was out of the conversation, turning away from Draco, and if had any thoughts at all regarding the topic, he kept it all to himself.</p>
<p>Next morning they were back to normal, only after breakfast, Harry apologetically looked at him.</p>
<p>“I know we wanted to travel further today, but maybe I should go to that interview and see what happens.”</p>
<p>Draco couldn’t help but feel betrayed, and as if it was a direct result of their not even argument-argument yesterday.</p>
<p>“We don’t need the money, and we talked about why we shouldn’t live here.”</p>
<p>They would be easiest to find in NYC, too visible, which they didn’t need right now.</p>
<p>“We can live anywhere, and I could still Apparate and work here.”</p>
<p>Pictures of a worn out and tired Harry coming home from work who would be too tired to even talk with Severus flashed before Draco’s eyes.</p>
<p>It seemed Draco making an adult choice yesterday already negatively affected Severus. Why else would Potter so desperately trying to separate himself from them?</p>
<p>But had he any other choice yesterday? Or now?</p>
<p>He was yet to know where this road led them then, but a couple of months later his mind kept wandering back how it was a start of Harry’s distant behavior.</p>
<p>Draco only later guessed at how the other wizard started seeing somebody soon after starting his new job when he once saw a hickey on Harry’s neck, but he couldn’t even ask.</p>
<p>They lived in a hidden village Jack recommended to them, outside the city and in a sensibly peaceful environment, having an only magical population, not counting the huge number of cats.</p>
<p>Finally, Severus had some company of other young witches and wizards, awfully shy at first, but then in a couple of weeks acting like all the others. </p>
<p>Chasing cats, playing Muggle kid’s games, inviting others for tea-parties, which always made Draco smile, whenever he saw it.</p>
<p>Even Draco had a couple of interesting discussions regarding magic, an unexpected plus because he didn’t think he’d find such a highly educated group of wizards and witches in the past. </p>
<p>Maybe not everything they said was up-to-date for Draco, but their curious mindset and willingness to study magic made them a pleasant company.</p>
<p>They also talked a lot about their partners, and even if Harry had a real relationship with someone else, he always told the group incredible stories of how they first met with Draco and he fell in love at first sight, how he proposed, and generally how in love they were.</p>
<p>Not making Draco wish it could be real, of course. Besides, what more could he ask given their circumstances?</p>
<p>Harry was always home after work, often entertaining Mindy, Pinky, and Severus by cooking something without magic for dinner.</p>
<p>Taking Severus out to flying. Listening to Severus when the kid told him about <i>everything</i> he did and read during the day, only to compliment him on any small achievement.</p>
<p>One day he even bought a cello for Severus, never asking Draco for his permission or money, claiming Severus said he wanted to learn how to play some music ever since they danced together.</p>
<p>And even if it was a very Muggle activity to learn, which Draco didn’t think much about, Severus seemed like he might jump out of his skin seeing it, so Draco just thanked Harry, and then later even volunteered to take Sev to a Muggle tutor for some lessons.</p>
<p>If having someone in a different city, during the day, made Harry this confident, relaxed and joyful, which resulted in him being so patient and great with Severus after work-hours, Draco half-wished Harry would never break up with this other person.</p>
<p>But also feared it, because if it turned serious, what was the guarantee that Potter didn’t want to live with his new partner? And if it was a witch, maybe they’d have kids, making Severus dispensable in his eyes?</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I read if time-travel was invented, we'd need the time machine to exist <i>both</i> in the time they'd like to go and in the time they started from. Then there was a Magicians ep where they also could travel to an era similarly... (trying not to spoiler while giving credit LOL). So I thought I use that as yet another type of Time magic spell, but I haven't come up with it. ;)</p><p>I just hope it's not too confusing? Also, the way Harry "travels" is different from the crystal (Warehouse 13 style, I think they had something like this? Anyway.)</p><p>Thank you guys for reading! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When prompted to choose, Harry took a job in the Cursed Objects department.</p><p>First, he didn’t have to depend on Malfoy entirely this way. Even if they trusted each other now, his pride wouldn’t let that happen.</p><p>Second, Draco had made it clear they would never have a relationship, but if Harry spent every second locked up with Malfoy and Severus, that was all he could think about.</p><p>And third, he knew about the Horcruxes and was willing to learn anything, because it was an interesting topic, not to mention, he also was hoping it would help him research the artifact that had brought them to this time.</p><p>And lastly, he could help and meet other magicals, which was great fun - although, there was a witch who was <i>way too thankful</i> and assumed Harry was not only straight but into her as well before Harry could escape her (Jack laughing in the background).</p><p>He also had access to restricted books and spent every afternoon with reading and Severus, joined by Draco for dinners or when they were socializing.</p><p>Harry kept telling everyone stupid stories about how they were a perfect couple, almost daring anyone to question it.</p><p>It was getting so out of hand Harry couldn’t believe it wasn’t obvious to Malfoy himself why Harry was doing it, but so far he didn’t demand Harry to stop, so he didn’t.</p><p>Luckily, Harry had no reason to think Draco would be hit on by anyone else. He barely left the secluded wizarding area where everyone was either married or less than 12 years old.</p><p>And as for things finally looking up: working on the question for months back in England, and spending more than half a year on it here as well, Harry couldn’t figure how the crystal exactly was crafted, but read enough to attempt Time-travel another way.</p><p>Harry bought and collected the daily newspaper every day, storing them at his desk, a seemingly curious pet project as Jack has put it, but not for Harry.</p><p>He had read in a random magical theory book he'd need an object that was originally from the time he wanted to travel.</p><p>Which made him realize the crystal could have worked somehow similarly. If it was using the blood in the Dark Spell to transport the traveler between the crystal in the future and the past, it meant Harry would need an object from the time he wanted to travel to as well.</p><p>Therefore, newspapers. It even had the date on, easy to use.</p><p>And he wasn’t attempting to travel forward for now, but back at first, experimenting only with 24 hours difference.</p><p>It took him 15 attempts and a lot of blood-loss, combining 4 spells (out of which 2 were written in a language that weren’t even spoken anymore) until he got a definite result.</p><p>One minute he was sitting at his desk in the morning, the next, he got a splitting headache, and memories that weren’t his own - yet.</p><p>Memories of another attempt, his tomorrow.</p><p>It was such an overwhelming feeling to figure something out, he wanted to run to Draco with it, but couldn’t.</p><p>Truth was, he missed the grim future less and less, and he didn’t want to just leave, so he was just contempt not using what he discovered for now.</p><p>Although theoretically, he was tempted to just kiss Draco sometimes, then send back the memory of how that went to himself a day before, using the knowledge to his advantage, he never had any memories “sent back to him” by his future self about such thing happening either.</p><p>Only, one day he woke up throwing up, and with memories that certainly hadn’t happened yet, but were terrifying.</p><p>During the next day, Eileen would appear in the MACUSA building with Aurors, telling officials her son was abducted. Claiming she knew he was taken to the US. Demanding papers for the English Aurors with her to investigate the case.</p><p>Running into Harry in the middle of his lunch break, not even recognizing him, until she caught one nervous gesture, letting him go as if nothing happened, but following him straight home in the evening when he left.</p><p>Draco got hurt fighting the Aurors and her, Harry barely escaped to send the memory back in time for himself, haunted by the memory of Severus kicking and screaming when his mother Apparated away with him.</p><p>Back in this time, all this didn’t happen yet, but if Eileen knew somehow they were in the US for sure, then they couldn't just stay.</p><p>Should they run? Should Harry relive this day again, spying on Eileen when she would show up, trying to figure <i>how</i> she tracked them down before running, so they wouldn’t have to run forever?</p><p>“We need to talk,” Harry knocked on Draco’s door, ignoring it was barely 5 in the morning when the sleepy-looking other wizard appeared on the other side.</p><p>“I tell Mindy to make some coffee. Is it about the person you’ve been seeing recently?”</p><p>“I… what?” Harry would have asked about it, but they didn’t have any time to waste. </p><p>He wasn’t going to decide how to face Eileen on his own. Even if it was just a technicality, they were married now, so he needed to update Malfoy quickly about the details.</p><p>“You. Figured. Time-travel. Out.”</p><p>“Well, not the exact time-travel we were looking for, but—” Draco gave him such a sharp look Harry found it was wiser if he just shut up soon. “Yes.”</p><p>“And you forgot to mention this tiny detail to me?”</p><p>“I mean… I was happy… In this time,” Harry admitted, cheeks probably burning. “I had no reason to—“</p><p>“We’re leaving, as soon as the elves had packed everything essential,” Draco decided. “So if you have anyone you need to say goodbye to, do it quickly, I’ll wake Severus. That is if you want to leave with us.”</p><p>“Why wouldn’t I? And Jack was a good enough of a boss, but I can owl him,” Harry wondered, but Malfoy just gave him an eye-roll. “Seriously, what?”</p><p>“I wasn’t talking about your boss, Potter. I was talking about the wizard or witch you’ve been seeing for months.”</p><p>And Merlin, it almost sounded as if Draco was jealous for a second, which he couldn’t have been, because A) Harry didn’t have anyone and B) he was Draco Malfoy, ice king of Slytherin, surely better than petty jealousy.</p><p>“I haven’t been-“</p><p>“I don’t mind, but I don’t like it if you insult my intelligence by lying about it. I’d rather if you told me and I knew what to expect, given that Severus now depends on you just as much as on me.”</p><p>“Wait, Dra-wait,” Harry tried to keep up with Draco, who was now fumingly running away under the pretense of looking for the elves. “I wasn’t-I’m not dating anyone. You should know this as well, when would I have the time? I have been constantly working or spending time with you and Severus.”</p><p>“Maybe someone at your work,” Malfoy suddenly turned, now facing him with fiery eyes. </p><p>“I work with only Jack, and he could be a hundred for all I care.”</p><p>“Other departments? I saw you had a hickey, there is no need to-“</p><p>“One time, in seven months, I was attacked by a witch who tried to-“</p><p>“Well, there you go, it’s normal to have witches throw themselves at the great Harry Potter, even at this time, on another continent, it seems.”</p><p>“I have already told you I’m gay,” Harry couldn’t believe that Draco would believe otherwise. “But I’d be happy to prove it to you, except you told me I couldn’t.”</p><p>“<i>We’ve</i> agreed,” Draco was eyeing him as if he wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not.</p><p>“I am only doing what <i>you’re</i> telling me to do,” Harry said, and then when he realized how it sounded, he was afraid for the repercussion or some degrading comment, but Draco only gave him a tired chuckle.</p><p>“Then I could use your help with quickly packing everything up, Harry.”</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you everyone for reading! I didn't expect it would take me more than 10 chapters to write this story frankly.</p><p>I also didn't expect so many people reading it and giving me feedback! So thank you! &lt;3 Stay safe guys and stay awesome. XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As more time passed, the more Draco worried. Harry kept buying his newspapers, and alerted them anytime they were about to be discovered, but even when they kept away from magicals, sooner or later Eileen somehow always discovered them.</p><p>Draco saw how Severus seemingly learned how to fit in anywhere with the kids, not even the language barrier stopping him, nor was it a problem whether they were magicals or Muggles.</p><p>But the more they traveled, the less interested he seemed to have any friends whom he'd only know for a couple of months.</p><p>Draco knew the feeling: they only rented now, and most of the time he didn’t even bother the elves to unpack the heavy furniture they owned since it would just get left behind.</p><p>At least Severus wasn’t shy anymore, and curiously, all the Muggle/seemingly pointless activities he had with Harry just helped him learn magic faster.</p><p>Quidditch made him not only fit but concentrate better.</p><p>Fooling around in the kitchen with what Potter called cooking made him ask Draco to let him brew potions.</p><p>Even playing the cello which required rhythm and coordination paid off when Severus performed a perfect Wingardium Leviosa - claiming it was similar holding a bow and a wand, while also timing the spell and the music right.</p><p>Draco estimated at this rate, Severus could achieve faster academic progress than his already quite famous past-self, but it wasn’t Severus’ studies that kept him up at night.</p><p>“Bad dreams?” Harry also seemed to fancy a nightcap, sitting down across the table.</p><p>“I haven’t slept yet,” Draco admitted, rubbing his eyes. “And not for lack of trying.”</p><p>“We have checked everything for tracing charms, keep changing our appearances, even our habits,” Harry misunderstood, thinking the other wizard couldn’t sleep because of Eileen hunting them. “We have all sorts of shields on Severus, so even if she tried a summoning spell or anything similar, she’d get nothing. But-“</p><p>“I’m not worried about her. Not right now, at least,” Draco shrugged. “It’s more what it does to Severus. A girl gave him her doll the other day, and he threw it back at her. Not to mention, he’s doing unbelievably well academically, but is he happy?”</p><p>“Of course he is, he loves spending time with you,” Harry said when he was the popular one with Severus, and they both knew it. “And he listens to you. I doubt he wanted to hurt the other kid, maybe he just thought dolls at their age were stupid.”</p><p>“Maybe,” Draco wasn’t convinced.</p><p>It felt like everything he wanted to achieve was crumbled because he only arrived in 1964, not 1960.</p><p>“Maybe it’s not Severus who is unhappy, but you,” Potter said, and Draco shook his head.</p><p>He didn’t matter.</p><p>“You can’t expect him not to pick up on if you’re unwell,” Harry went on. “And given that for 3 years, you have been doing nothing but schooling him at home, and working non-stop in the afternoons, making more money than you'll probably ever spend, I’m sure you’re exhausted.”</p><p>Investments helped Draco relax, they weren’t making trouble. Nor was schooling Severus, and Draco’s hobby was reading, and books they had plenty.</p><p>He all but forgot about their conversation, when Severus and Potter appeared in his room early in the morning a couple of days later, even before Draco could get up.</p><p>“And what is this?” first, his sleepy mind panicked, thinking they were found again, but they both were suspiciously smiling. “What are you two up to?”</p><p>“I made you breakfast,” Severus announced.</p><p>“And I made sure he wouldn't burn down the kitchen,” Harry added, while Mindy bought in a tray with a plate that was covered.</p><p>Draco was intrigued. Lifting the lid from the plate it revealed: not breakfast, but muffins.</p><p>“Three muffins,” he chuckled.</p><p>“I made six, but I also gave Mindy, Pinky, and Harry one,” Severus supplied, proudly smiling.</p><p>“This means you haven’t even tried it?” Draco bit into one, which was... surprisingly good. He could get used to breakfast in bed, even if it wasn’t an especially healthy one.</p><p>“I gave Severus mine,” Harry admitted. “After I sampled it, of course.”</p><p>“Is it good?” Severus asked.</p><p>“It’s great, you should make more than six next time,” Draco didn’t even have to lie about it as a parent would to a kid sometimes.</p><p>“So, are we going?” Severus asked, already out the door.</p><p>“What’s going on?” Draco thought the surprise was over.</p><p>“I may or may not have bought a magical tent and recruited the elves to set it up already, and told Severus we’ll take a vacation,” Harry grinned. "It's in a high altitude forest where rumor says that you can harvest plenty of ingredients for potions.</p><p>“A forest. You know Purebloods take their vacations on beaches, right?”</p><p>“But we wouldn’t be able to collect said ingredients just a trek away, and meet the donkey my Muggle guide introduced me to when I first went.”</p><p>The donkey part didn't make it sound like a 5-star hotel, but Draco knew he couldn’t ruin Harry’s surprise.</p><p>“Fine by me.”</p><p>“But also: no books, no owls, no investment newspapers for you on this trip,” Harry counted on his fingers. “Meditation, walking, spending time with Severus without trying to parent him is allowed.”</p><p>“I’ll try to keep it in mind,” maybe it wasn’t such a good idea at all, Draco was sure he’ll get bored to death.</p><p>“And one more thing.”</p><p>Draco couldn’t help but smile himself, because of the way Harry grinning at him now.</p><p>“Let me guess: we aren’t allowed to use magic either for the duration of this trip?”</p><p>“I just wanted to say you should change into something else unless you’d prefer I Apparate you in your PJs,” Harry said. So that’s how they were now! Harry laughing at him. There was no way Draco wouldn’t get back him for it.</p><p>It was his <i>responsibility</i> to show Potter how they might have had a truce, but he was - even if not legally - still a Malfoy.</p><p>He didn’t know there would be snow in the mountains but saw his chance. Recruiting Severus to the cause, they ambushed Harry with a spectacular snowball attack: Draco preparing the ammunition, and Severus throwing them.</p><p>Harry used magic to cheat and get them back, and if anyone acted like a 6-year-old, it was Harry and Draco in the end, not Severus. Luckily, the potion ingredients they collected on their way survived the big fight, and now Severus was putting them away.</p><p>Taking such care to label everything with the funnily-shaped letters children first write with that he didn’t even notice Harry and Draco watching him fondly.</p><p>“You still think he has behavior problems?” Harry quietly asked, then without waiting for an answer helped Severus out by putting a preservation charm on the jars Severus already filled.</p><p>It was one of those times. When Draco regretted not dating Harry. It would have been so easy to imagine it would be perfect when Harry was doing so great with Severus like this.</p><p>Showcasing to Draco what he was missing out on, reminding him it was his decision.</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I planned on Severus doing something with accidental magic in the end, but in the comments, I also got the suggestion to use their elves to help Drarry, so I did (=&gt; which also shows how grateful I am for every comment, and you guys even trying to help me out with ideas, so thank you all!) &lt;3</p><p>This is chapter 1 of 3 I'm going to post today, so if you guys would like to read it all together, wait until I finished proofreading and uploading them all ;)</p><p>And as always, thank you all ever so much for reading! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry had seen so many futures. Now every time he was dreaming, futures that never came true flashed in front of his eyes.</p><p>It put things into perspective seeing all those terrible fates that could have befallen on them but didn’t.</p><p>There was a price to pay for it, however. He constantly had a headache and was confused about the small details of their lives, whether it happened, or it happened on a day they changed.</p><p>And he tried to keep Draco happy while trying to not hit on the blond. But how were they supposed to live their whole lives only having each other as constant, yet acting as if they were divorcees, only tolerating each other for the sake of the kid?</p><p>Fair to say, he wasn’t looking for any connection, but it also has been more than 4 years now that he barely interacted with anybody else but Draco, so.</p><p>He might have been just smiling politely at a handsome stranger on the market - they couldn’t send the elves because it was a Muggle one, and they didn’t want their Disillusionment Charms somehow alert Eileen outside of their heavily warded house - who then smiled back.</p><p>And came back the next day, inquiring about Harry’s name, and if he’s seeing anyone.</p><p>Which would have been flattering, and Harry would have walked away, probably going to another market from that day on to avoid complications.</p><p>Except, then a small, all-smiles girl ran up to him, and following Harry’s gaze, the stranger - Matt - just admitted.</p><p>“This is my daughter, Clara. My partner, Noel, took it on himself to use a highly risky spell to carry her and didn’t survive her birth. I would have done it myself, except I’m almost a Squib, only feeling other’s magic,” he told the little girl to go and buy some sweets, only then adding. “And you have such a magnificent power Harry, it’s makes me wonder what other talents of yours could I see if I could get to know you a little better.”</p><p>He was shockingly forthcoming, yet still soft with the kid, and also a magical. And there was an instant connection between them that was hard to deny. But not impossible.</p><p>“I’m married, and also raising a child.”</p><p>“How old? Maybe we could introduce the kids to each other. I chose to live here because here’s where I used to live with Noel, but there are scarcely any opportunities for Clara to meet any of her true peers.”</p><p>“Muggles aren’t—“</p><p>“I’m not saying they are bad, hell, I’m almost one of them. But I’d prefer it if she met some other magicals before going to school. With Muggles, I constantly have to remind her to keep her magic hidden. Merlin sees my soul, I can’t even Obliviate a group of children if she loses control.”</p><p>He could go from flirting to a grieving father in a blink so well, Harry had his suspicions he was completely honest.</p><p>Or was he just simply so strong? Telling another wizard everything right after they just met because he wasn’t interested in anyone who wouldn’t accept him for himself?</p><p>Harry almost thought how much like Sirius his smiles were before he tore himself away from the eye-contact.</p><p>“We are only traveling through, and will be gone by tomorrow,” he lied, keeping a potential friend from Severus away, yet knowing full-well he wouldn't want this other wizard meet Draco.</p><p>Draco, who was already jealous once, when Harry’s heartbeat wasn’t beating as loudly as it was now. Not to mention, if Harry managed and declined any advances from their new friend, he didn't want Matt to start flirting with Draco either.</p><p>“I’m sorry to hear that,” Matt smiled. “But if you ever visit again, owl me.”</p><p>Harry, true to his word, avoided the market like plague from then on.</p><p>Except, he wanted to meet the charming wizard again. He didn’t feel any attraction to most of the wizards he knew in his life, and the only one he felt a spark with was completely untouchable, given their cohabitation, and Malfoy’s rules.</p><p>Harry was too curious, but then almost left the market, thinking it was stupid to appear 3 weeks later when Eileen could find them any time now, already spending too much time in one place.</p><p>“Harry,” Matt’s voice stopped him before he could run away. “Have you tried the freshly baked bread today? Clara and I just got some.”</p><p>And, where Draco was closed off and cold, and sometimes even refusing, Matt was open, warm, and straight on commenting how he thought Harry was hot. A little bit less since Harry told him he was married, and only agreed to spend time as friends, but still not shy to express it.</p><p>Nothing happened between them, but Harry began to look forward to going shopping in the morning, every day just stealing a little bit of time out of the house and with Matt and sometimes Clara.</p><p>He felt like he was cheating, but he wasn’t. He couldn’t have been, given that Malfoy and he weren’t a real couple.</p><p>“I have met someone,” he finally decided to talk with Draco. If he was going to do this, he wanted to do it right, as honest as Matt could be.</p><p>“Who?” Draco was sitting behind his desk, doing some paperwork, not meeting his eyes.</p><p>“Someone I could see myself dating,” Harry said. “I know with Severus and Eileen, it’s probably—“</p><p>“You should ask them out,” Draco now leveled his cold gaze at Harry. “Before we have to leave. So you can see where it goes.”</p><p>“I… I don’t want to—“</p><p>“It was bound to happen. I’m already surprised it didn’t happen before, to be honest, but that’s maybe because of our lifestyle, so you should give this wizard a chance if he managed to get through to you nonetheless,” the blond seemed to be so adult about it Harry almost wasn’t sure he should believe it or not. “Was there anything else?”</p><p>“No, that’s all. And I give you my word, Severus will be always my top priority…” Harry quickly explained, making Draco nod.</p><p>“I know, you care for him just as much as I do. Don’t worry about him for now though, just do what you need to do.”</p><p>Harry, who feared flying curses and yelling coming in to talk with Malfoy thought he should accept his luck and quickly leave, before Draco’s understanding turns.</p><p>They even had a very polite and uneventful dinner next, until it was Severus who refused to go to bed without a bedtime story all three of them acted out, demanding to go to Harry's room, yet left them to take a bath first.</p><p>Only when he wasn’t back after the usual 15 minutes, Draco stood and tried to see where he’d gone. And the doorknob wouldn’t turn.</p><p>“It’s locked.”</p><p>“Let me see,” Harry also tried a couple of spells, and it wouldn’t give. And the magic was familiar. “House-elf magic.”</p><p>“Do you think it’s Eileen? She somehow brainwashed our elves and she could be here any second?” Malfoy paled, now trying any way out of the room, trying to open the windows, trying to blow up the walls, just as Harry did, accomplishing nothing.</p><p>Except almost getting hurt when a spell bounced back, as if all the room was sealed off, so Harry had to throw up a shield, keeping them both safe.</p><p>“Thanks,” Malfoy muttered, not noticing Pinky who appeared behind his back.</p><p>“Young Master Severus said Master Draco and Master Harry should stay, not destroying room. Pinky will bring food, and release Masters once they are happily married again.”</p><p>“What?! You are to obey us first, not a seven-year-old child!” Malfoy yelled at the elf, trying to get him with magic, but was unsuccessful. “I should have got rid of you when we first moved to a Muggle area!”</p><p>“Mindy and Pinky are free elves and will only do what their Masters need the most. We’ll take care of Master Severus until Masters ready to be let go.”</p><p>“Wait, we need to buy newspapers every day for—“ Harry tried, but was cut short when the elf Apparated away.</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter 2/3 ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco checked a hundred times, and there was still no way he saw for escape. Yet, he was so furious he still kept trying out spells, testing the magic’s force and searching for any weaknesses in it.</p><p>“Would you stop?” Potter asked. “We’ve already tried everything.”</p><p>“This is your fault, so don’t you tell me to calm down!” Draco turned on his heels. “First, it was your brilliant idea to free the wretched elves…”</p><p>“I know.”</p><p>“And second, Severus must have heard when you told me about your new boyfriend, to lock us up like this.”</p><p>“I left Severus in the other wing when we talked, with the said elves,” Harry sighed. “And spelled the room so we wouldn’t be overheard.”</p><p>Draco laughed.</p><p>“Then he must have better Legilimency than we’ve thought because we’re here.”</p><p>That made Potter shut up.</p><p>“Tell me you Occlude around Severus!”</p><p>“When I think about things I don’t want him to know I do, but it’s not like I could keep Occluding all the time, that requires--“</p><p>“Too much of an effort? Self-control that you don’t have?” Draco helped. He did Occlude all the time, and it was tiring, but also not without reason, it seemed. He could have strangled Potter for being so careless.</p><p>“How do you know it was me?” However, if they were to yell at each other, Harry stood his ground just as well as Draco. “It could have been you, I certainly didn’t notice him in my head, so there’s no way to know if he also can hide his magic! If it wasn’t your stiffness and overly polite behavior that gave us away…”</p><p>“Oh, how is it my fault?” Draco just hoped the elves made the room soundproof or Severus was sleeping already, not overhearing any of it. “Since when is it a problem if you come home saying you’re seeing someone, and I try to let you, choosing to be civil about it?”</p><p>“I… I’m not seeing them, not yet, but maybe I should! They wouldn’t pretend to be fine with it if they were hurt,” Potter said and hearing that was too much, so Draco sent a curse first.</p><p>They destroyed pretty much everything in the room, dueling each other for half an hour, neither of them getting the upper hand, but both of them ending up exhausted and with several minor injuries.</p><p>“We sleep, and never talk about this ever again. I don’t want to hear about your fabulous boyfriends, and you have no reason to tell me anyway,” Draco raised his hand and saw the hurt in Harry’s eyes when he told him the second part, but it was only fair. If Potter hurt him badly, at least he should also know how that feels. “Tomorrow, we figure out how to get out of here, and you move out.”</p><p>“What? I—“</p><p>“You can come to visit Severus every day, but clearly, he’s too old for lies, and we can’t provide him with a relationship he wants to see between us. I’ll take the bed, you sleep on the floor.”</p><p>Potter just gave him an annoyed look, but his next spell was to make the unforgiving floor invisibly cushioned.</p><p>Draco fell asleep somehow, only to wake up in Potter’s arms in the narrow bed that wasn’t meant for two.</p><p>“I was cold, and it’s not like I have any illusions how deep our animosity goes, so I decided to sleep here,” Harry gave him a look, and Draco couldn’t help but let him stay.</p><p>They only woke later again, when Mindy popped into the room with breakfast and quickly popped out with a terrified look.</p><p>They ate in complete silence, and it took hours for Harry to speak up, even if there was nothing better they could do, locked in.</p><p>“What do you think they meant by properly married? Is it just sex, or do we have to come out of this completely in love?”</p><p>“I’m not sleeping with you, even if we never get out of here again,” Draco snarled, jumping to his feet.</p><p>“I understand. But we’re sitting ducks if Eileen comes until we can’t get out, and we never had difficulties with the physical side of things.”</p><p>Draco wanted to yell at him for some reason again, but he was also terrified, and Harry spoke the truth. </p><p>However, how should he just sleep with Harry again, if it was only to get them out and send Potter straight to the arms of this other wizard Draco didn’t even know, yet he already made such an impression on Harry?</p><p>But if he had to choose, wouldn’t it be better to get out of there quickly, before Draco told Potter something he’d regret? And how would he be able to be happy with Harry, knowing it was him who kept Harry away from someone else, who might have fit Potter better?</p><p>So he decided to act quickly before he’d lose his resolve.</p><p>“Then strip. The sooner we’re done, the better,” he also threw away his clothes, looking at Harry without shame, because it wasn’t anything more than a business deal at this point.</p><p>In exchange to get out before Eileen could show up again, they needed to do this. And they both knew it.</p><p>“You just said-“</p><p>“If you no longer want me, even just because we have no choice then—“ Draco frowned, but the next second Potter was on him with a kiss, radiating heat and want even from his magic.</p><p>Draco wanted to make it last - if it was truly their last time together, then use it for a good memory - but it’s been so long since they last did it, it was impossible.</p><p>And then… nothing. The door still didn’t give, the room was still magically closed off, and the elves didn’t appear happily congratulating them on sorting their differences out so quickly.</p><p>“We’ll never get out of here, will we?” Potter sighed, kissing Draco just on the cheek this time.</p><p>“You can have the bathroom first.”</p><p>“Unless you join me.”</p><p>“If we are to talk, and not just repeat what we’ve just done, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, Draco,” Harry said, and before Draco could ask what for, disappeared in the adjoining bathroom.</p><p>They had spent days arguing after that, getting nowhere. Alternating between almost cursing each other to pieces and finding a common understanding why it would never work between them.</p><p>They even tried ambush Mindy and Pinky when they delivered the food, but that only resulted in the elves now spelling them asleep when they came in.</p><p>“How is he called?” one day, Draco couldn’t help himself but ask. They needed to get out there, and he needed to spend less time with Potter, so honesty to a certain degree couldn’t have been avoided.</p><p>“Matt. But nothing happened—“</p><p>“And why do you like him so much?” What did he have that Draco didn’t?</p><p>“He’s… I’m not sure if we should have this conversation,” Potter buried his face in his hands.</p><p>“Let me guess. A hot gay wizard who isn’t afraid to speak his mind,” Draco could only imagine a pure Gryffindor character affecting Potter like this, and the expression on Harry’s face told him he was right. “With a great arse, also?”</p><p>“More like… with possibly a great cock,” Harry went so red it was almost funny seeing it, mumbling something if they were to have sex, how it would be the other way around then Draco initially imagined.</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>3/3</p>
<p>PWP &amp; M/M Warning!</p>
<p>If you're reading this fic for the cute moments with Severus, please skip this chapter.</p>
<p>Here is what you need to know to read on: They somehow manage to get out of the room, let's just say. </p>
<p>(somehow = with honesty &amp; a newfound way for them to have sex)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“He sounds like someone I’d hate but also secretly envy,” Draco surmised. “Even if I have no right because I’m nothing like him, and if that’s what you want, I could never give it to you.”</p>
<p>There. He just said it, and the world didn’t crash and burn into pieces like a Phoenix, despite how he felt saying it. And if anything, Potter seemed to stare back quietly at him, definitely not yelling now.</p>
<p>“You like to order me around, I don’t think that part would be difficult for us in the bed either.”</p>
<p>“Maybe, but it’s not like you'd want me,” Draco tried to not get hard just by hearing such things from the Wizard-Who-Lived. He never even considered it, but now his brain supplied one picture just after another, making it impossible for him to think about anything else.</p>
<p>“I’d do it right now if it wasn’t for your rule of not even suggesting it.”</p>
<p>“Have you ever been with another wizard like that?”</p>
<p>“No,” Harry admitted, with another blush, and Draco shouldn’t have been wanting it now even more.</p>
<p>It was so tempting. Draco liked to bottom, but if he’d have Harry now, even if Potter ended up with Matt later, Draco would always be his first.</p>
<p>And who would have thought that Saint Potter would want someone like Draco willingly, almost eager to try it out?</p>
<p>A deeply buried Malfoy part of Draco wanted to own Harry in every way he could before he’d given up on him, just because they couldn’t.</p>
<p>“Maybe you should tell me what this fantasy entails,” he told Potter, whose eyes grew wide, just by hearing how Draco’s voice dropped, only by thinking about the possibilities.</p>
<p>“You could tell me what to do, and I’d do it,” and this time, he wasn’t embarrassed, or backing out of their eye-contact.</p>
<p>“Everything?”</p>
<p>“You could punish me if not.”</p>
<p>Draco’s pulse picked up, but he wasn’t going to let it show, not when the topic suddenly turned to this.</p>
<p>“Even if I have my way with you every night that you can’t even stand the next day, not promising anything just that I’d use you?” he leaned a bit closer, a bit even surprised by himself.</p>
<p>Okay, he grew up with Lucius Malfoy as a father, but asking Potter uncomfortable questions he wasn’t even planning on delivering for real was not his style.</p>
<p>Although, it clearly could be, if he wanted to impress a certain other wizard, who was now panting under him.</p>
<p>“We shouldn’t ruin years of self-restraint,” he told Draco, but his pupils were blown, and he conveniently forgot to mention they’d have to do something big to get out.</p>
<p>And it wasn’t a no.</p>
<p>“We really shouldn’t,” Draco agreed, but he wasn’t pulling back, just as he wasn’t kissing Harry senseless either. “Why do you think you’d want me that way?”</p>
<p>“It’s hot.”</p>
<p>“And if I order you to answer me for real?” the blond asked, and when Potter didn’t answer, figured he’d pushed it too far. He was about to get off from Harry when the other wizard grabbed him.</p>
<p>“Generally I'm okay dealing with whatever shit life has thrown me into,” he told Draco, now not even Occluding the slightest, so he was an open book to read, and Draco could read that he wasn’t lying. “But sometimes it would be just so helpful to surrender and not think, not… decide about anything, just… letting go of being Harry Potter, who is supposed to lead the magical society to victory and not be treated as someone special.”</p>
<p>“And I could treat you like shit, because it annoys me how perfect you are,” Draco laughed. Ironically, hearing how Potter felt about all this was making him impossibly protective. Which meant they couldn’t do it, after all.</p>
<p>Draco should protect Potter just as much Potter has protected him in the past, even if it was from himself.</p>
<p>“I’m broken, not perfect.”</p>
<p>“I don’t remember giving you permission to argue with me,” Draco snapped, regretting it until he saw how unfocused Potter’s eyes became hearing that.</p>
<p>He wanted it so much a simple Malfoy-like sentence like that already rattled him. Draco almost wanted to see how much more undone Harry could become if he were to push him, but he couldn’t.</p>
<p>“<i>Harry,</i>… I can’t,” he could have. So much. But maybe even sending Harry to Matt’s arms was better than risk the fragile trust between them.</p>
<p>“Fuck, Draco,” was all Harry said in return, taking off his glasses, and covering his eyes with his hand. Surely, he wasn’t upset or crying, right? He couldn’t have been so disappointed that Draco wouldn’t touch him?</p>
<p>“You know if we weren’t us, in a different time, and with Severus, I’d jump on an opportunity like this?” the blond wizard tried.</p>
<p>“Just… leave me alone, please,” Harry asked an impossible thing, given that Draco could only leave as far as the bathroom. “It’s not that I don’t understand, it’s just that for a second I thought you were really going to do it.”</p>
<p>The realization hit Draco after he’d already moved to kiss Harry, initiating the contact, comforting him, until the Wizard-Who-Lived calmed down.</p>
<p>He cared about Severus too much to pursue a relationship with Potter, yet when Harry was hurting, it was also just as upsetting to him as if Severus was.</p>
<p>“Tell me if you feel up to it for me to start. Then I won’t stop until you tell me to stop, understood?” he was close enough to see Harry got goosebumps just by Draco whispering to his ear.</p>
<p>“Gods, yes. Please, I’m ready.”</p>
<p>Draco’s mind was flooded by many things they could do, but if they were going to do this, he needed to take care of Potter, which meant he’d have to take control of Harry, but not hurt him physically, so most of the things for the first time was out.</p>
<p>But a lot of things were still in.</p>
<p>“First rule, you aren’t allowed to touch yourself or cum until I tell you to,” it was such a simple way of torture, but quite effective, given what he was also planning.</p>
<p>“But I—“</p>
<p>“Break my rules, and as a punishment, I’d hex you,” if Harry wanted to surrender control completely, Draco had to make sure he <i>did</i>. And he wasn’t going to hit Potter, not without him explicitly requesting it at least.</p>
<p>“I won’t.”</p>
<p>“And also a fair warning: if you talk too much, I’m going to have to spell you mute, or occupy your mouth otherwise.”</p>
<p>“Now I’m tempted to.”</p>
<p>Draco could have used a cold shower, because he definitely couldn’t find Potter so sexy this way, and stay in character to last long.</p>
<p>So he decided to do something he wouldn’t usually do. Even with the cleaning spells, the thought of it didn’t attract Draco at all: a good enough distraction that might just keep him from getting too hard too fast.</p>
<p>“Maybe another time. Now I want you to spread your legs wide, and don’t move.”</p>
<p>Draco heard Harry’s sharp intake of breath when he started kissing down on his tight, then giving him a blowjob that already made Potter break the rules, coming hot into Draco’s mouth, but it was only the beginning.</p>
<p>Rimming Harry next was what Draco never truly enjoyed doing with anybody else, but only hearing the incoherent noises Harry made it worth it.</p>
<p>“This is going to hurt,” he warned, when Harry was already dripping on the front, as well as somewhat prepared on the back, lubricated with all the charms Draco used after making Harry come a second time. “But it’s not like I care, so you should brace yourself.”</p>
<p>Truth is, he kept kissing Potter and went slow in the beginning, and Harry picked up on that as well.</p>
<p>“I thought you didn’t care.”</p>
<p>“I don’t.”</p>
<p>Draco pulled completely out and pushed back in one swift motion, but also angling his hips, trying to cause just as much pleasure as pain, if it was possible.</p>
<p>And Harry must have enjoyed it too because he not only matched Draco’s speed moving his hips but also looked at him almost teasingly as if to say this wasn’t enough.</p>
<p>And Draco knew he could never forgive himself if he was rougher with Harry for his first time, but also wasn’t going to pass on a challenge.</p>
<p>So he went excruciatingly slow next, but with quite forceful and deep trusts, denying what Harry so desperately wanted to reach, and only picking up some speed once again when he felt like he wouldn’t last otherwise anymore.</p>
<p>They didn’t even notice how the locked door stayed closed, but the spells keeping it locked gave out once they were finished.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>With only a couple of chapters left I think, I'd like to thank all of you for your support! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry probably enjoyed what they were doing so much he fell asleep when they were done, only to wake up in the tub, and Draco washing him before filling the tub with hot water and sitting both of them down.</p>
<p>Harry would have enjoyed staying in his arms pretending to be still asleep, but he wasn't going to.</p>
<p>“I can’t just go back as if nothing happened,” he took the other side of the tub, still quite short for the both of them, but at least he could see Draco’s expression.</p>
<p>“Nor did I say I could. Are you alright?”</p>
<p>Draco looked at him not moving but keeping his eyes trained on him.</p>
<p>“Better than I was,” Harry told him. In all his teenage years, and recent adult life, he didn’t know he could break down in front of someone so bad only to then be put together as new, and still feel cared for in the end.</p>
<p>This only went on when they fell asleep next to each other, waking up to Pinky who bought breakfast, but also at least a week worth of newspapers, which comforted Harry.</p>
<p>He could go back to any date, they haven’t missed an issue… Although, given what happened with him and Draco, he certainly didn’t want their last night to disappear.</p>
<p>“The door is open,” he greeted Draco when the blond woke.</p>
<p>“Severus?”</p>
<p>“Haven’t seen him yet.”</p>
<p>And with that, Draco was dressing already, probably to breathe fire on the poor elves, and maybe even tell Severus not to repeat the last week, leaving Harry alone with the plates and papers.</p>
<p>But then when Harry got to the Library, Severus was reading by himself, and Mindy was watching over him.</p>
<p>“Severus—“</p>
<p>“Draco has already told me. I’m not allowed to interfere in adult business I do not fully understand,” the kid recited. “Please don’t be mad.”</p>
<p>“I’m not,” Harry immediately said, although, he couldn’t let Severus put them in the same danger again. “I trust you. But you should also trust us with the matters that only concern us.”</p>
<p>“Even if what you’re doing is wrong?”</p>
<p>“Not everything can be black and white.”</p>
<p>“I can feel when Draco is hurting.”</p>
<p>See? It wasn’t Harry’s Occlumency failure, after all. Rather, his relationship failure with Draco, letting him be hurt.</p>
<p>“Then you need to tell me, and I’ll do my best to help him. But you can’t just trap us for days.“</p>
<p>“Even if it worked?”</p>
<p>Sometimes, Harry felt like Severus grew on them.</p>
<p>“Yes. I believe that’s what I said. So, what should we read next?”</p>
<p>Draco appeared after 20 minutes, saying he had some urgent business to take care of, and took over Severus’ lessons while Harry went to the kitchen to talk with Mindy and Pinky.</p>
<p>Then went back to the Library half listening to what Severus was studying with Draco, half revising his research on Time magic.</p>
<p>“I have been thinking for a while,” Draco sent Severus ahead for lunch, coming up to Harry. “About what kind of crystal would fit time travel magic best and such.”</p>
<p>“And?” Harry wondered about that himself.</p>
<p>“If it was me, I’d divide a piece of a larger piece for maximizing profit, and one that already traveled quite much in time and space, and has existed for some time now as we know it.”</p>
<p>“Wait a minute, you’re saying your artifact wasn’t only a meteorite by origin but must have been part of a bigger rock, which means there must be other pieces.”</p>
<p>“You might be able to go back.”</p>
<p>“We. We’d be safe from Eileen, all of us.”</p>
<p>“Only you. There won’t be enough blood  you left to survive the trip if we all went.”</p>
<p>But, Draco didn’t know Harry was Master of Death and could have possible powers to bring them all back.</p>
<p>Harry was so drawn to research, with this new lead, he only took a break to bake a cake with Severus in the afternoon (Severus’ choice).</p>
<p>Then he worked well into the night, completely forgetting about time, so when he got back to his room, he was a bit shocked to find Draco there.</p>
<p>“I have been waiting for you.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, I got caught up in reading about meteorites… why?”</p>
<p>“As much as I loved being locked up here with you, maybe we could ask the elves to move your things to my bedroom? I have a bigger bed that could be more comfortable for both of us. Also a nicer tub.”</p>
<p>He looked pissed, but he could have been waiting there for hours now.</p>
<p>It wasn’t what Harry had expected to say at least, not after their rushed morning, or Draco almost sending him away to a different time alone.</p>
<p>“Does this also mean I’m allowed to kiss you?” he wanted to do it all day, and even now.</p>
<p>“If it’s once a month, yes,” Draco told him with a fake-serious face, but then he chuckled. “Do you even think for one minute I’d be offering to sleep with you and still expecting that we wouldn’t do anything?”</p>
<p>Harry suddenly felt sorry he was so tired that they couldn’t do anything that night.</p>
<p>Only once Harry was already in Draco’s bed, ready for sleep, did he realize something. Namely, how Mindy could cook for them all day without a problem, even though they should have been low on food. </p>
<p>And how Draco disappeared “on business” when he usually never left the house for that, only owled.</p>
<p>“What?” Draco blinked at him.</p>
<p>“You went to the market and used Muggle money which you claimed you couldn’t use properly, just so that I wouldn’t. And now you moved me to your bed to notice if I was gone for the night.”</p>
<p>“I also told Matt off from you while I was there, on no uncertain terms, so if you’re still considering anything with him, you might have to apologize first,” Draco shrugged, with an almost cruel expression.</p>
<p>But, if it was just a calculated Slytherin move, as he would have liked to sell it, why would Severus say he was in pain? Unless…</p>
<p>“Tomorrow we go together and you’ll apologize to him yourself.”</p>
<p>“I haven’t accused him of anything untrue, and—“</p>
<p>“Goodnight Draco,” Harry kissed him, and when the blond blushed and turned away, Harry only used it as an opportunity to spoon him.</p>
<p>Having probably the best sleep since the war was over, waking up to how Draco turned in his sleep and was now facing him, looking younger without a scowl on, sleeping peacefully.</p>
<p>In the morning, he only intended to kiss Draco as a way to say hello, but one thing led to another, and they barely made it to breakfast in time.</p>
<p>Harry would be lying if he couldn’t see a connection between these new sleeping arrangements, and how well he was doing with his research.</p>
<p>Especially when rather than staying up late in the Library, he was reading the books in bed, and from time to time, Draco joined him, giving him ideas by discussing the details with him, challenging him to think differently.</p>
<p>If not giving him ideas about some activities that weren’t connected to the research at all...</p>
<p>“I think I have it. A way back. A way we can all go, taking Severus with us. Being safe from Eileen finally,” Harry told Draco later one morning, not daring to do it at night.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>1/2 today, where events start to speed up a little, as promised.</p>
<p>Thank you guys for all your support! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Even if that’s the case, we’d travel blind. We changed things, so we have no way of knowing what would we find,” Draco wasn’t entertained.</p>
<p>It was like they were back to the day they arrived, and Potter wanted to return desperately to his friends. Only one thing changed: now he wanted to take Draco and Severus back as well.</p>
<p>“And if we did?” Harry waited for this objection clearly, because he already knew what he was going to say.</p>
<p>“You want to send your consciousness forward, to look around,” Draco realized just by the smile Harry had on. “But how do you bring it back?” </p>
<p>“We only stay a couple of hours at most, I have modified the spell that it would expire,” Harry said, proud.</p>
<p>“We?” Draco only asked.</p>
<p>“I think we should both go and see how it looks like now, and decide together whether we can live with it.”</p>
<p>“And if we going into the future changes said future, decide to go and find something else?”</p>
<p>“If we only see a possible future, you mean.”</p>
<p>“Or, our meddling causes ripples not only forward but backward in time as well. The mere presence of the spectator watching the experiment influencing the results.”</p>
<p>“I think depending on what we see, there might be risks I would be willing to take,” Harry - ever the Gryffindor - offered.</p>
<p>And Draco had to admit, he was curious as well. Even if he could only determine whether or not Potter was still in his life almost 30 years later, he wanted to see.</p>
<p>They spent days preparing for worst-case scenarios, and Draco and Severus had made several blood-replenishment potions so Harry and Draco could take the blood-loss that was a side-effect of the spell.</p>
<p>“If we are separated-“</p>
<p>“Send a Patronus,” Draco nodded. He hated how his was a ferret, but that was overruled by the necessity that it was still the easiest way to communicate. “And if anything seems fishy, go to the newspaper we’ve hidden in the Ministry, and return to the past without a second thought.”</p>
<p>The last memory Draco remembered before waking up was Harry kissing him before the spell, then waking up in an older body, alone, famished, cold, and in a dark… cave?</p>
<p>It took him minutes to find a way out and reorient himself enough to send a Patronus to Harry, and Apparate a public place: Diagon Alley.</p>
<p>Except, nearly nobody was around, and even if someone appeared, their steps were hurried, and everywhere it was dark and too quiet.</p>
<p>He barely caught sight of a torn “Undesirable Number One” poster and went to find Harry on it - only looking decades older - when he was attacked.</p>
<p>Draco paid the Goblins a good amount of money to get rid of the Horcruxes once he got to know what they were from Potter, and the Goblins agreed, eager to keep the magical objects Voldemort used to make them - but if Voldemort shouldn’t be still around, why was Harry on the posters?</p>
<p>And who were attacking Draco?</p>
<p>He had better shields than most, but there were too many of them. Even Apparating away only got rid of the attackers for seconds, until most could follow.</p>
<p>“This way!” a hooded figure appeared out of nowhere next to him, Apparating away, then dragging him down to the Muggle sewer-system. “We can lose them here!”</p>
<p>They did, but once they were safe, looking at the hooded figure he almost cursed her to pieces.</p>
<p>“Eileen!”</p>
<p>“WAIT! I’m here to help, just hear me out! We’re on the same side here! You know time-travel, and I know from your husband’s mind that your Dark Lord was evil, but nothing like this. And we’re both hunted, and want to undo this, I suggest at least a talk!”</p>
<p>Draco frowned. Why was he also hunted?</p>
<p>Not that living under the constant terror of Lord Voldemort was a picnic, but at least he was never on the run in their original future.</p>
<p>“Why suggest it now, Eileen?”</p>
<p>“Because I couldn’t find you earlier. Up until the moment your magical signature just resurfaced, which no doubt drew the Death Eaters to you as well. What were you thinking, going to a public place just like that, anyway?”</p>
<p>Death Eaters?</p>
<p>“Look, I know we’ve been fighting each other, but we’ve both lost. I regret everything, and I have no doubt you would love to have your husband back, as well as Severus.”</p>
<p>“You know where Harry and Severus are right now?”</p>
<p>That made Eileen look at him funny, just before attacking him with Legilimency. Draco fought her off, but only after she saw too much.</p>
<p>Given that she saw how to use the newspaper to send her consciousness back, and how she knew it was the tactic Harry used to elude her for years, Draco couldn’t let her out of his sight.</p>
<p>Not until he Obliviated her, at least, or she could also alert herself.</p>
<p>“They are dead. Severus was killed slowly and painfully by the new Dark Lord, just as my husband. And Harry was lured there by Severus’ capture so Edwin could defeat him for the title of the Elder Wand, the only item he needed for his collection.”</p>
<p>“Edwin?”</p>
<p>“You thought you could change the past, but you only replaced some players, the overall history stayed the same. My second son’s name is Edwin.”</p>
<p>“Your second child is the new Dark Lord?”</p>
<p>“When I had him, he was put up for adoption, and I only kept watch on him from afar because I thought your husband would want to rescue him.”</p>
<p>“We couldn’t risk it.”</p>
<p>“And so, next thing I know, he used Muggle ways and all his money to find us, and one day when I returned home, I have found him over the dead body of Tobias,” she blinked back tears. “By the time I got back, he had his powers back and was waiting to kill me too. I barely escaped and faked my death, but it was too late. Edwin only wanted to punish his parents first, but once he got the taste of magical power, he would have done anything to find more. And he saw Severus in my mind, just as you and your husband. So he killed Voldemort and took over his army and titles. As far as I know, Harry sacrificed himself to get you out when you couldn’t save Severus from him before he dueled my son and lost.”</p>
<p>It wasn’t just a future Draco and Harry couldn’t move to, it wasn’t a future that was acceptable.</p>
<p>“If you are truly from the past as I have sensed, then this can be easily avoided.”</p>
<p>“That’s what I thought, but as you so kindly put it, I only replaced Voldemort with your son, and nothing changed in the grand scheme of things,” Draco told her. He was shaking, and he wasn’t sure why he was still alive if everything was taken away from him this way.</p>
<p>Maybe because if Potter gave his life to get Draco out, he didn’t want to get caught by the people hunting him, honoring his sacrifice too much?</p>
<p>“That’s because you’d need my help. We need to work together, not fight each other. I think we can both send our memories back to 1967, but I need you to trust me.”</p>
<p>“I don’t.”</p>
<p>“Believe it or not, I had time to rethink my decisions, and I much rather would give up both my boys willingly if I knew they would be cared for than have this future,” she said. </p>
<p>“Which is exactly what you’d say even if you didn’t,” Draco warned.</p>
<p>“Tobias might have meant the world to me once, but I had to lose him to get some perspective. All along I thought if I just loved him well enough I could change him,  and we could be happy together, blaming myself. I forgot how strong I was before I met him, but once I had no other choice, I realized I could face everything alone just as fine, if not better.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>2/2</p>
<p>Thank you all very much for reading! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco couldn’t believe he spent the next hours helping Eileen to get into the Ministry unnoticed to send her consciousness to the past, instead of hindering her any way possible.</p>
<p>He wondered if he was killed in the future, would he ever return? Since he had to do anything just to not let their timeline come to this, it meant he had little choice.</p>
<p>Even if it meant he had to team up with someone who just as much caused this grim future as himself.</p>
<p>“If I die before we could do this, find my other self in the past, and show her your memories,” she told Draco.</p>
<p>“Before or after the other you will try to curse me into pieces?” he sarcastically wondered.</p>
<p>Finally, the hidden compartment they were looking for was still there, and Eileen was just about to start the spell when they got ambushed.</p>
<p>It was only so far shields and clever Disillusions got them, it seemed, and she has been hit with something that resembled Sectumsepra much, but couldn’t have been the same, because Draco couldn’t heal her.</p>
<p>Although, trying to fight off the Death Eaters and healing Eileen at the same time was already an impossible task.</p>
<p>“Also… If you wonder how I found you always…” she started to say, grabbing Draco’s cloak.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t matter now, save your strength.” If they could run away again, they already collected everything they needed for her to perform the spelled.</p>
<p>“Severus called me… mentally with magic. He could sense how upset you were sometimes… and noticed how fighting a common enemy always got you and your husband closer… and he wanted to keep you together… because he feared if you end up fighting, you’d get rid of him… just as I did.”</p>
<p>Draco only dropped his guard for a second hearing that and understanding what it meant, but it was enough for two nasty curses to hit him on the back as well, and by then Eileen was dead in his arms.</p>
<p>So he fled, not even daring to check if he was still pursued, when next he woke up in his bed, Harry next to him, making Draco drink the blood-replenishing potion after a general healing one.</p>
<p>“The spell didn’t work for me, I’m not sure why,” he told the blond, who couldn’t help but hug Potter tightly, just to sense he was warm, alive, and well.</p>
<p>Draco tried to answer, to tell Harry everything, but he was so drained magically, every time he regained consciousness, he couldn’t keep his eyes open enough to even start.</p>
<p>“You were dead, and so was Severus,” finally, when Draco regained his strength and ate something for breakfast Harry insisted on, he could say.</p>
<p>“What? Why? How?!”</p>
<p>Draco had to explain everything.</p>
<p>“We have to find Eileen.”</p>
<p>“If what you’re saying is true, that Eileen from the future didn’t make it back here. She wouldn’t care about what her other self thought, or hear you out if you were to appear knocking at her door. We can’t—“</p>
<p>“Risk it?” Draco asked. “Remember when I told you the same thing when you wanted to adopt Edwin as well, and I said we couldn’t? And how well that turned out!”</p>
<p>It wasn’t a comfortable thought.</p>
<p>“I reported to the Ministry what Eileen and Tobias did to Edwin anonymously, so if anybody, I’m at the fault,” Harry said. </p>
<p>“You did what?” it was the first time Draco heard about this.</p>
<p>“I knew they would have to put him up for adoption after that, but I thought the further away a kid is from them, the better. So if anyone is fixing this, it should be me, and you should rest, you can’t even stand,” Harry said.</p>
<p>“Yet, the only memories that might stand a chance to convince Eileen are in my head,” Draco wasn’t going to let the upset Harry find Eileen and Tobias alone.</p>
<p>“Then we’ll wait a couple of days. I’m not risking facing Tobias and her with you hurt,” Harry kissed Draco, but only softly, as if a simple kiss could also break him until full recovery.</p>
<p>It made Draco feel guilty because he didn’t deserve it.</p>
<p>“There is also one more thing. Every time Severus alerted her of our location, apparently it was because of me,” he confessed, almost waiting for Harry to suddenly jerk away from him.</p>
<p>“Or that’s what Eileen wanted you to think,” Harry’s voice didn’t even waver for even a second.</p>
<p>“He can sense strong emotions even if just accidentally, and thought I’d only keep him as long as I am happy,” Draco pushed the topic further, forcing himself to say.</p>
<p>Even if Harry might just leave him for this, he wouldn’t be able to live with this as a secret. And he didn’t want to pretend he wasn’t at fault either. </p>
<p>Whatever this conversation would bring, he would deserve it, if not worse for hurting Severus the way he did, even if he didn’t realize it at the time.</p>
<p>“And how on earth bringing Eileen to our doorstep would make you happy?” Harry didn’t get it yet.</p>
<p>“Remember when it first happened? I thought you were having an affair, and maybe he just thought about how he missed his mom. But once we had to escape, we not only protected Severus as one but also shared a bed, started spending more time together, agreeing even if it’s in our nature to otherwise just fight and…” Draco saw when it Harry, so his voice dried up.</p>
<p>“So I’m what? A method to keep you happy?” Harry’s question wasn’t dismissing. Rather, it sounded hopeful, so Draco’s lowered gaze darted back at him.</p>
<p>Eileen worded it differently, saying that if they kept fighting, Severus would think they’d get rid of him, but what Harry asked was also true.</p>
<p>“I thought it was obvious,” Draco admitted. “I’m sorry, maybe time cannot be changed, after all, if you just look at Severus’ life.”</p>
<p>“I don’t get it, and—”</p>
<p>“He still had to grow up way too early, fearing how his parents’ relationship went because if it went poorly, he’d be punished. And although he’s doing well academically, he doesn’t have a single friend, even if it’s because of the constant moving around. And he was killed… way too early considering how wizarding lifetimes tend to be much longer. And the Goblins might have weakened Voldemort, but finally, we created another Dark Lord who was even more powerful.”</p>
<p>There seemed to be no escaping fate, and Draco had pulled Harry into this futile fight for nothing, but Potter just held him.</p>
<p>“Not everything was the same,” he then told the blond. “You said Edwin defeated me, so the Dark side won. That’s proof.”</p>
<p>“That it could be always worse?”</p>
<p>“That not even the main events are written in stone, and if not, together we can fix it. Edwin is still a baby, and we can adopt him.”</p>
<p>“And if I don’t want someone like that around Severus?” Draco found himself asking. Edwin didn’t get a fate he deserved, but Draco would also fear for Severus’ safety, letting him close to a dangerous brother.</p>
<p>“He isn’t that person yet, and I’d fight for him not to ever be. Just as Severus would, and you know that.”</p>
<p>“Even so, his magic was already taken.”</p>
<p>“Which spell can be only undone by Tobias’ death, or the caster of the spell. If we speak with Eileen anyway, we should do it when Tobias is not there, and also rescue her. We have her memories now, of a life she said she wouldn’t repeat, maybe she could be finally convinced.”</p>
<p>Draco just wondered why Potter constantly wanted to save everyone, even his enemies. Was Draco also just a project to him, a name among many?</p>
<p>But Harry saw his expression and misunderstood.</p>
<p>“I know, Saint Potter can’t even sit on his arse for two seconds without finding himself a mission where the whole future of the wizarding world rests upon his shoulders,” he said. “But I’d be happy to grow old with you in all glorious boredom if we finally could arrange for Severus to be safe. And Edwin.”</p>
<p>Draco couldn’t believe Harry was talking about them as a couple still, not after what he just told the other wizard.</p>
<p>Even if it was a trait of Harry, a hero of the side of the Light, not even a choice, probably.</p>
<p>“For the record, I was thinking if we do this, and then you leave me with two kids and Eileen behind, I’d marry Matt just to get back to you,” Draco stated.</p>
<p>“I thought you hated him,” Harry laughed. And everything seemed to be back to just acceptable, as long as Draco could make him laugh.</p>
<p>“When did being rivals with anyone stopped me from sleeping with them?” Draco shrugged, carrying on with the joke.</p>
<p>“We are married, and you must still need some rest,” Harry just rearranged the covers around Draco. “You’re so lightheaded, you don’t even know what you’re saying. I’ll bring you something to read until you’re feeling better.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you all for reading! </p>
<p>I tried to write this chapter from Eileen's POV, but then I couldn't keep a certain distance I usually like to keep, and after many rewrites, Harry got this part.</p>
<p>Hope you'll all still like it! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Drop your shields, and let me have your wand,” Eileen warned Harry. “Or do you want me to hurt him? I’m in his mind deep enough to do anything.”</p>
<p>Their plan was risky at best, Harry didn’t agree with it at all, but Draco insisted they have to earn Eileen’s trust, and the only way to do that is to show some vulnerability.</p>
<p>So he walked up to her without mental shields, hoping if she started looking into his head, she’ll see the grim future, and her future self, and maybe will let them talk.</p>
<p>Except, she didn’t read those memories, but straight away without questions she took over control of Draco’s mind and body, freezing him with an empty look on his face.</p>
<p>And threatening to hurt him if Harry didn’t give up his wand.</p>
<p>“If you’re in his mind, search for why we’re here, and you’ll see,” the Wizard-Who-Lived-Twice tried. It didn’t matter that they carefully came to her when Tobias wasn’t around if she on her own could fry Draco’s mind.</p>
<p>“Maybe I shouldn’t even make him crazy, although I could. Connecting or severing paths in his mind could make him end up a drooling mess until the end of his very long natural life,” she announced, making Harry grip his wand tighter. “But maybe I should leave his mind intact, and only bury his memories connected to you, and build a natural defense so that every time he sees you he’d be disgusted by you. You could never get him back.”</p>
<p>Harry didn’t know how strong Eileen really was, and how much of it was just bluffing, but it wasn’t something he was willing to risk.</p>
<p>“If I drop my defenses, you’ll only do the same to me. You probably can hurt Draco badly, and I understand how losing Severus would make you want to do it even,” if Harry had Severus taken away from him, he’d be devastated to say at least and murderous. “But you must know we’re having this standoff because—“</p>
<p>“Don’t even think you can stall me.” </p>
<p>“Because you’re strong - enough to face two accomplished wizards on your own. Just as both of your sons are. So would you let both of them suffer, just because you didn’t even hear us out? I don’t think so.”</p>
<p>He couldn’t know, of course. But the way she banished Draco saving him just when they first met, even if it earned her a heavy beating from Tobias gave Harry hope she was nothing like her husband.</p>
<p>“You have no idea what I’ve been through.”</p>
<p>“No. But we walked into this trap willingly, so at least you should see the reason in Draco’s head for yourself,” Harry carefully tried. If only Draco was aware of what was happening, he was a much better negotiator than Harry, but until Eileen released him, Harry didn’t want to risk hurting Draco by tearing him away from her by force.</p>
<p>“So that you can attack me while I’m in his memories? I’m not stupid, you might have Severus now, but legally he still belongs to my family. You might just want to-“</p>
<p>“I’m willing to go with you. You can still attack us both the same after,” Harry wouldn’t forfeit his wand, but at least could make her see reason.</p>
<p>“If you think a false memory would fool me-“</p>
<p>“It isn’t a false memory, although it’s something that won’t be easy for you to see,” Harry warned her.</p>
<p>When they were finished, he could see the anguish in her face, and had to remind himself not to try even comfort her: she still held Draco hostage.</p>
<p>“It’s all your fault! If you didn’t come here in the first place-“</p>
<p>“I know we messed up a lot of things,” Harry admitted. “But-“</p>
<p>“No, I mean you, personally!” Eileen shrieked. “You tricked me because you truly think of yourself as a goddamn hero, who would even keep your partner from taking my son away without my permission, yet when it came down to the choice, you’re just a monster, abducting my child, calling the authorities to take my baby away, destroying any hope I had for the future, and you dare to come to me for anything!”</p>
<p>Harry felt silent for a moment because she was right.</p>
<p>“Then punish me. Not Draco.”</p>
<p>“As if I could, without inadvertently hurting Severus as well,” she laughed, but her laugh didn’t carry any joy.</p>
<p>“Then stop hunting us. I never wanted to separate you from either of your sons, only protect them, and we have plenty of rooms. If you undo the bond between Tobias and your son, your husband won’t be able to do magic to find us, and we can all care for the kids.”</p>
<p>“Except, I’d lose my husband forever, and now you say you and Malfoy would love to have me, but during our first parenting argument you’d both just want me out of the house, and I’ll have nowhere to go.”</p>
<p>“Then let us adopt the boys and you can visit anytime,” Harry only softly dared to ask.</p>
<p>“Tobias would kill me for taking his magic away, and that’s why you’re here, aren’t you?”</p>
<p>“Among other things,” Draco almost toppled over, when Harry caught him, and had to made sure he was okay, but the blond just shook his head that it was alright. “But if you saw the future you, you should know you can do it.”</p>
<p>“But I love my husband, and I can just leave him!” Eileen understood what needed to be done, but she also seemed like she couldn’t handle her role in the plan.</p>
<p>Draco seemed emphatic but otherwise silent, so Harry had to tell her.</p>
<p>“If you tell us Tobias changed since he has Edwin’s magic than we’ll adopt him without it,” he stated, making Draco now stare at him. “And if not, we shouldn’t only rescue Severus and Edwin. We should also help rescue you.”</p>
<p>He feared how she will react. Maybe she would curse him badly…</p>
<p>“You can’t be sure, but you gamble with Edwin’s magic,” however, she seemed relatively calm, reminding him.</p>
<p>“I trust we can take care even of a child like that so that future you saw won’t come real,” Harry said. “But all this back and forth in time only taught me that it’s not enough to change the timeline if you don’t change the patterns you repeat.”</p>
<p>“Meaning I should change my behavior?” she asked.</p>
<p>“Meaning whatever you give Tobias - your love, your support, your obedience, your health, even magic... it can't help him, not unless he wants to change. And the fact that you kept shrinking yourself just the please him didn't - can't - make you any less.”</p>
<p>He only meant to talk about Tobias, but then thought about the Dursleys, and how Dumbledore and the Horcruxes sometimes played his emotions, and he went overboard, thinking he could even guess at Eileen's feelings, risking her getting rightfully angry when it wasn't even her feelings he was talking about, not any longer.</p>
<p>He didn’t expect Eileen to blink away tears next.</p>
<p>“He can’t even be Obliviated,” she then wiped her eyes and looked at Harry with a new determination. “If I leave him, he might tell others, or try to hunt us all down.”</p>
<p>“I would love to see him try. And get locked up by the Muggles for lunacy,” Harry told her. “Or having all three of us and the elves fight him. He might be immune to magic, but I’m thinking he’d still feel it if I levitate a house over his head, and drop it on him.”</p>
<p>“Maybe we shouldn’t discuss that right now,” Draco warned him, giving him a warning look. </p>
<p>And he was right, Eileen might have calmed down, but just a couple of minutes ago she emphasized how much she loved Tobias, and Harry was rambling on about viciously hurting him.</p>
<p>But Eileen surprised them both next saying.</p>
<p>“It’s okay. I’d be lying if I said I never considered doing the same.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi!! TBH I find it extremely difficult to write kid characters (dealing with tiny humans are further from my expertise than the Moon to Earth), but I hope both Sev and Ed (just as Drarry!) are cute enough together so you guys will like this chapter anyway.</p><p>Thank you everyone for reading! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What happened?” Harry asked, trying to plant a row of potion ingredients Eileen suggested they could easily have in the garden, when Severus appeared out of nowhere, hugging him.</p><p>Only when Sev let him go, did Harry see that Severus had his hair in two braids, and looked upset - beside cute, but Harry didn’t want to disappoint him further by smiling down at him.</p><p>“Should I unspell your hair?” Harry supposed that was the matter.</p><p>“NO!”</p><p>“So you like it this way,” Harry carefully said, trying to not seem too curious why.</p><p>“She is <i>my mom,</i> you know,” Severus told him. “But she kept talking to Clara and braided her hair, so I wanted to be next.”</p><p>So that was the reason. Eileen met Matt on the market just after she moved in with them, and invited his daughter over, saying they could get along well with Severus, but so far Sev saw it as the girl stealing his parent away?</p><p>“You can always spend time with Eileen, but not with Clara, so maybe it’s okay if she’s here-“</p><p>“No, it’s not!” Severus insisted. “Draco is always with Edwin, saying I can read on my own, but Edwin can’t, and you’re so busy, and mom is always at work, and when not, she invites stupid Clara over…”</p><p>True, since they officially adopted Severus, rescued Edwin, and Eileen also got a job from Jack, their life had become a bit more chaotic.</p><p>Draco certainly couldn’t teach Severus simultaneously while taking care of Edwin, who couldn’t speak yet, no matter how he was 4 and had to be watched constantly because his newly returned magic sometimes produced quite dangerous situations.</p><p>One night Harry tucked the small child to bed only to wake up later Edwin having a nightmare, and levitating himself so high he could have been hurt.</p><p>Or when he didn’t like the food the elves served, so he banished half of their Dining table (which they couldn’t recover).</p><p>Or, when he was chewing peacefully on a toy one second, and he enlarged it to the size of the room the next, and Harry and Draco couldn’t find him in all that plastic that filled the space (although lucky Edwin was safe under a table, and not plastered to the toy, Harry was worried sick, just as Draco).</p><p>“No more children, no matter their future or their connection to us, or I’ll go crazy, you hear?” Draco one night declared when he finally got to bed, kissing Harry only briefly, from which Harry could guess he was too tired for anything other than sleeping. “We wanted this, but at age four, Severus could talk and almost read, and Edwin-“</p><p>“Edwin was under different circumstances until now, but we’ll take care of him.”</p><p>“I just wish he would be a couple of years older already, I’m too old for this,” Draco muttered into his pillow and was asleep even before Harry could laugh at the “old” part.</p><p>It made Harry spend more time with Edwin as well to help, just as Eileen played with Edwin when she was home (giving Draco a bit of rest), but they hadn’t considered how Severus must have felt about it.</p><p>“Maybe we could have another tea party,” Harry announced.</p><p>“I’m not a kid anymore! And Edwin would just ruin it,” Severus kept pouting.</p><p>“He’s your brother and-“ Harry tried, but was cut short.</p><p>“No, he isn’t.”</p><p>“<i>He is,</i> and he didn’t have any parents before,” Harry told him. “You have 3 now, so I expect you to try to share. Maybe you, as his big brother could also teach him useful things? The quicker he learns, the sooner you both could have lessons with Draco.”</p><p>“But he is a baby! He’ll never learn to read!”</p><p>“Severus… don’t you want your brother to be your best friend? He and you could-“</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Then can I ask you to do it for me?” Harry wondered. “And I’m sure Draco would be very proud of you also if you spent a little time with Edwin as well.”</p><p>It wasn’t like Harry was expecting miracles, but he wanted Severus to accept Edwin at least at that moment, and quite forgot about their conversation later, but Severus didn’t.</p><p>“What are they doing?” Harry stepped out into their garden one evening, with Draco sitting on the terrace, sipping a cup of tea, watching the kids.</p><p>“Don’t ask me. They either are preparing lunch for some animal that eats grass and live snails, or they are pretending to brew a potion, but the snails keep escaping,” he gestured at Severus, who in the big “cooking/brewing” got some grass on his clothes as well, not only in the cauldron. “But listen carefully.”</p><p>Harry did, and Edwin, who was otherwise quiet, was occasionally muttering something that made no sense, but he was addressing Sev from time to time with it.</p><p>“He has his own language?”</p><p>“And it’s not only that, Severus can understand it,” Draco smiled when Harry sat down as quietly as he could, not to disturb this moment.</p><p>“How exactly?”</p><p>“Legilimency. They have a link. Mostly by Severus’ effort, but I also think Edwin needs to let himself be read, and it happens when he talks, even if it’s not any spoken language we’d understand.”</p><p>“They are adorable together,” Harry said, and also considered a tea for himself.</p><p>“I’m happy as long as I don’t have to magically intervene for two consecutive minutes,” Draco let out a sigh. “Which reminds me, Edwin hasn’t blown up any of his food in three days, so I think I’ll call that a success.”</p><p>Harry smiled, thinking if their such luck should continue, maybe they could recruit Eileen to watch the kids for just a night, and go on a date someplace nice. That, or sleep 16 hours straight, locking the doors to their bedroom just once.</p><p>“I think it’s your success,” it was true. Draco spent so much time with Edwin, and Edwin also was the calmest when Draco took care of him.</p><p>“I’d like to think, but then explain why someone gave Severus the impression I’d be proud of him if only he could care about his brother a little more.”</p><p>Harry couldn’t tell whether Draco was just irritated or really angry with him, so he tried to flash Draco with his most apologetic but sexy smile, hoping to distract the blond.</p><p>“I might have talked with him, and said something like that.”</p><p>“And whatever gave you the idea to do that?”</p><p>“Nothing else seemed to work, so…” Harry admitted, digging his grave only deeper.</p><p>“Well, you weren’t wrong, I am proud. Of both of them,” Draco finally announced, when Harry thought for sure he’s going to curse him. “I’m only disappointed I didn’t think about it sooner. Edwin is doing much better since, and Severus can learn a bit of responsibility, and I could even read a book now, and they’d both most likely survive the night still…”</p><p>“You can read a book, and I’ll stay,” Harry offered.</p><p>“And miss this?” Draco gestured at Edwin collecting some fallen leaves to add to the cauldron. “But you could bring us a blanket, and tell me about your day while I lay down a bit.”</p><p>Soon, it wasn’t only Draco listening to Harry talking, resting his head on Harry’s shoulder while watching the kids, but Severus and Edwin joining them with the cauldron.</p><p>And very soon, it was possibly Edwin who thought it would be fun to levitate the blanket under them, so Harry just found himself in the middle of the blanket with everyone on the top of him, since their combined weight wasn’t evenly distributed for the flight.</p><p>“If I find a snail on me next, I’m not going to be happy,” Draco said, making Harry traitorously laugh, while Severus told them.</p><p>“Ed says it’s not a blanket but a ship and he is the Captain.”</p><p>“Aye aye Captain, have mercy on us, and let us dock this ship!” Harry tried to ask Edwin, but only got the Captain’s knee in his ribs as the kid wiggled around. “We’ve been valiantly sailing for so long now, and I also cannot breathe!”</p><p>Severus used a charm to balance out a blanket quite elegantly, and once Draco made sure they couldn't be levitated too high, the game had only started.</p><p>“Is that a pirate?” Draco pointed in the direction of a large tree, which was standing out because it was further from the rest of the trees.</p><p>“It’s a tree, silly!” it was Edwin, who to everyone's surprise, told Draco, not even requiring Severus to translate.</p><p>Harry only could blame himself when he fell off the blanket because he was laughing too hard. Then, he had to pretend to die on the grass, which was - of course - dangerous, molten lava, and got a sequel part as a Sea Monster next.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm sorry for the wait, guys! I had this chapter since forever, but I didn't want to post it before I knew where the story from here went.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your kind support! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry didn’t want Draco to see if by any chance Ed still was evil in the future, so rather he decided to go and see and apologize only later.</p>
<p>Still, it was rather something he wouldn’t to completely alone, telling nobody where he went, so he recruited Eileen to help, who didn’t seem happy about it.</p>
<p>“And if you die, and your husband wants to kill me?”</p>
<p>“Technically, we’re just in the dating phase yet, and only married because—“</p>
<p>“I would say I’d come with you, but I have no desire to see any of the future,” she said. “Maybe you could ask Matt…”</p>
<p>“If anything happens to me, you tell Draco it was my Potterish idea, and you must help him with the kids. But I will be only gone just half an hour, and try to not be executed in that time-frame, no matter what.”</p>
<p>Still, he might have almost jumped when he opened his eyes in the future, and Severus - a grown-up version - was standing beside his bed.</p>
<p>For a moment, Harry almost thought Snape would reduct House Points soon, or start yelling at him for something he had done, but when Severus caught his line of line easily and just smiled at him.</p>
<p>A smile! Harry couldn’t help himself but smile back in return.</p>
<p>“Severus, it’s good to see you.” They both were alive still, and seemingly well, so it was a future that was already better.</p>
<p>“Welcome to the future, Father, I’ll try to answer any questions that you might have, without giving too much away,” he said. “But first, please repeat after me the date and time so you can tell me later when to expect you.”</p>
<p>Harry did, and in the meanwhile, a very (very!) old Mindy appeared, and bought a tray of food, while Severus directed them to a Library to talk.</p>
<p>“This is my home, in case you are wondering,” Severus gestured around. “Ed will also come, he’s just probably got held up. So, what do you want to know?”</p>
<p>Harry didn’t have to look into the mirror to know he aged, as well as Severus, so he didn’t have to struggle to come up with the first one.</p>
<p>“So, we didn’t come back to the future, after all?”</p>
<p>“Do you really want to come back?” Severus just raised an eyebrow at him, asking.</p>
<p>Harry realized he didn’t since the first time he accidentally traveled back. </p>
<p>All the friends he had been missing were part of another life, and he got not only new friends in the past but also a family. And a not so complicated time, where Draco wouldn’t be charged for war-crimes, no matter if Voldemort rose to power or not.</p>
<p>“And Draco isn’t here because…”</p>
<p>“Dad is well, and you’re still together, but he said he didn’t want you to see this old version of him just yet,” Severus supplied. “I… I am also married, so you have 3 grandkids, and Ed has more of an academic career.”</p>
<p>There were so many questions about these simple facts now in Harry’s head he didn’t know which one to ask first. And, that’s when Ed also arrived through the Floo - at least he looked so much like his brother Harry didn’t have any doubts it could only have been him.</p>
<p>“Father, welcome to the future,” he said, just as his brother did mere minutes ago. “You can rest assured, I’m not an evil overlord in this one.”</p>
<p>“That’s always good to hear,” Harry noted, while Sev just gave him a funny look.</p>
<p>“Your students might not agree with that statement.”</p>
<p>“You’re a teacher?” Harry asked, and Edwin shrugged.</p>
<p>“Potions. After Sev’s talent was lost to marriage, someone had to take over his research and they didn’t want to replace the name on the door of his offices,” Ed joked, while Severus just rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>“He is just trying to appear modest, but they had to replace quite so many names at Hogwarts after the scandal with Du—the previous Headmaster went down, nominating Ed for the new one.”</p>
<p>“You will be Headmaster of Hogwarts?” Harry asked Ed, who just waved it away.</p>
<p>“Had been for a while.”</p>
<p>“Youngest to have the title in some time,” Severus proudly added. “But if you and Dad would like to change anything, Father, Ed will be quite smart, but you could also make him more social? He spends most of his time with McGonagall, and while she is a great Deputy, I doubt the age-gap between them is appropriate—“</p>
<p>“Shut up, would you?” Ed gave Severus a warning look. “My life is quite perfect as it is, thank you very much!”</p>
<p><i>Ed could skip a couple of years and I intentionally held back not to do the same so we could attend most of the same classes at Ilvermorny, </i> Severus told Harry in their heads. <i>We also had a third best-friend, and I married her. Sometimes I do worry Ed loved her too, and that’s why he never had any long-term relationship ever since.</i></p>
<p><i>Or, I’m quite busy with teaching, paperwork, and research for the Ministry,</i> Ed noted, quite easily joining the conversation that wasn’t even worded.</p>
<p>Then there was a loud noise that could only come from wizarding kids and Severus went to check on them and when his older brother was gone, Ed turned to Harry.</p>
<p>“I’m really fine. I’m just not the romantic type, and as much I love Sev’s wife, I’m gay.”</p>
<p>“But you haven’t told him?” Harry wondered. And also if—</p>
<p>“It’s not you and Dad’s ‘fault’,” Edwin answered the questions even if Harry didn’t technically ask them. “And I have told Severus this as well, but he thinks I'm only lying to make him feel better, so after a while, I figured I stop insisting on it. It doesn't make any difference since I'll never have the time for a serious relationship anyway.”</p>
<p>“That’s not how you should—“</p>
<p>“Believe me, you and Dad had this conversation with me <i>many</i> times before,” Ed held up his hand. “But we have more important things to discuss. Voldemort as you think about him is gone, just as the Horcruxes, and we didn’t have anyone trying to claim power in the last couple of decades, only some troubles with the Muggles.”</p>
<p>“Which are?”</p>
<p>“Their ever-evolving technology makes it a bit more difficult for us to hide. If our projections are correct, statistically speaking by the year 2000 or 2005, we won’t be able to keep the existence of magic from the masses.”</p>
<p>“Oh.”</p>
<p>“But I had reinstated Muggle Studies as a compulsory subject - just as some other forms of magic. I also put some pressure on the Ministry to expand its research department regarding Muggle sociology and technology studies. Just as I’m connected with other countries who are trying to find a solution as well. I’m confident we’ll work something out,” Ed reassured him. “So, you see, most of the things are great.”</p>
<p>“But?” Harry sensed it coming. Besides how he agreed with Severus, and he also thought Ed shouldn’t be alone.</p>
<p>“You should send someone into the future in your stead,” Severus returned, sitting down. “Ed and I have discussed this to a great length, and think it’s the best course of action since we can take care of this person better in this time.”</p>
<p>“Do I know this person yet?”</p>
<p>“Eileen,” Ed sighed. “She moved out of our home as soon as she had earned some money working, but…”</p>
<p>“You and Dad thought it was a good thing because it was a sign how she for the first time of her life could lead an independent life, but in reality, she only wanted to distance herself from us so we wouldn’t miss her too much when she died.”</p>
<p>“You mean she…” Harry started to ask, and Ed just nodded.</p>
<p>“<i>Yes.</i> That’s why she wouldn’t be missing from our past, but if you send her here, we could keep an eye on her, and she could maybe start a new life. See her grandkids, and how well I’m doing…”</p>
<p>“I need to discuss it with Draco first,” Harry said, but it wasn’t the conversation he feared.</p>
<p>Rather, how should they tell Eileen to go? Then, suddenly, Harry had a plan.</p>
<p>She wouldn’t save herself. But if they tell her that Ed would be <i>terribly, terribly lonely</i> in the future, and it was her responsibility to help him?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you all very very much for reading! &lt;3</p><p>I must admit, this fic turned out 2 B quite a challenge for me indeed when I got the prompt, bc only then did I realize sg. </p><p>I don't ship Drarry after my fics Say If It's Worth Saving Me and Possibility because Drarry were "only" BFFs there and I kinda liked that too much XD</p><p>Therefore, I tried to write-write this with the tricks of a writer(?) not as a fan, but I dunno whether it worked out for the better or worse TBH... Still, it was a great challenge for me, I feel like I learned a lot from it! ^^</p><p>As we're almost done, I do hope everyone reading enjoyed it nevertheless, and that I could do justice to the prompt still. Love you guys! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You wouldn’t even guess, who are you shagging in this future,” Harry told Draco after he already told most of the important things they needed to discuss first.</p><p>“Not you?” Draco just shrugged.</p><p>“I was never born. Apparently, without Severus attending to Hogwarts, Lily and James Potter never even looked at each other twice,” Harry grinned. “Your parents, however, only started to ignore your existence when you sorted into Gryffindor.”</p><p>“Now I know you’re pulling my leg.”</p><p>“Sirius became the other Draco’s foster parent, with Ed and Severus helping him out sometimes, so it’s not such a jump.”</p><p>“Great,” Draco frowned and rolled his eyes. “So is this other me also dating Lockhart or something?”</p><p>“Fred Weasley. The twins became your new Crabbe and Goyle, and you married Fred out of school.”</p><p>“Fred, are you sure? I always thought George was more entertaining,” Draco only said, and for just a minute Harry felt a pang of jealousy when the blond cruelly laughed at him. “Gods, you should have seen your face, Harry. That kid is obviously nothing like me. Maybe the only thing common is that we both seem to like Gryffindors.”</p><p>But, that didn’t make Harry feel better.</p><p>“I almost sorted into Slytherin. I never even told Hermione and Ron that, but…”</p><p>“Green would look much better on you than the red,” Draco kissed him.   “Maybe even blue, although I’m personally not a fan of bright yellow <i>on anyone</i>. Maybe mustard-yellow, or—”</p><p>But Harry wasn’t about to let him talk, kissing him back.</p><p>Now that they didn’t need to pack up and leave anymore (Eileen or time-travel), he thought maybe he could propose to Draco for real.</p><p>---</p><p>Edwin was an important person. He didn’t have time for all these dates, and if it would have been his Dads or brother setting him up, he would have sent them to hell a long time ago.</p><p>Only, how to tell that to his time-traveler mother, who supposed to be under his care?</p><p>He had to endure one torturous date after another over the years, and he only mentioned that he didn’t feel like any of his dates were his equals once when he felt like he had enough.</p><p>So, Eileen outdid herself, inviting the Brazilian Minister of Magic, who wanted to forge a political alliance more than even have a polite conversation, so Edwin decided to drink quite much just to tolerate him.</p><p>Only, about half-way to their “date”, he had received an urgent Patronus, and his secretary sat down across the table to Ed.</p><p>“Carlos apologizes, and wants you to continue your dinner, on his tab, of course,” the wizard said, pulling out a calendar. “And if possible, reschedule another occasion he won’t be disturbed like this.”</p><p>Ed just drowned some more wine thinking he’d have to do this twice now, but he also needed to talk about reestablishing certain exchange student programs with Carlos.</p><p>“You know what, why don’t you stay, and finish dinner with me? I’m quite sure Carlos wouldn’t mind if he knew I asked you to keep me company,” suddenly, Ed just asked the secretary, who was…</p><p>Dear Merlin, Ed could tell the kid was quite smart, just by how he took care of everything from Carlos’s shadow, but it’s not like Ed knew his name even.</p><p>He must have been drunk. He’d never hit on such a young wizard otherwise, especially since Ed didn’t have a habit of hitting on someone who didn’t have a chance but to say yes.</p><p>And even when he did, the poor wizard seemed hesitant.</p><p>“I have a lot of work-“</p><p>“What is your name?” Ed just wondered.</p><p>“Lucas. Well,-“</p><p>“I just thought you have spent the whole afternoon with your boss and me, and I haven’t seen you eating anything,” Ed cringed at himself, saying that.</p><p>“I’m… a partial born-vampire,” the kid announced, making Ed hit himself mentally.</p><p>Not only he invited the young man inappropriately to dine with him but forced him to confess something personal.</p><p>“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to... I mean I just thought you must be hungry… which you can be, but I just assumed - for solid food, you know…”</p><p>It was a <i>disaster</i>. Being Sev’s sibling meant Ed rarely had to talk to anyone without his brother’s present, and when he did - like with McGonagall - it was mostly about work.</p><p>But, Lucas just laughed at him.</p><p>“I do eat human food most of the time. I just can do without it longer. But you’re right, I would be happy to join you,” he sat, and even put away all the paperwork he carried.</p><p>Ed, for the life of him, couldn’t help but wonder why would he decide to stay, just when before he wasn’t.</p><p>“So, you’re the first person who didn’t attend Hogwarts, but got appointed as Headmaster,” Lucas started a topic, seemingly more informed about Ed’s life than his boss. And if Carlos made Lucas do the initial research on him, it made sense. “But rumor has it, not the first gay one.”</p><p>“No,” Ed admitted. Even if they were overheard, that in itself wasn’t a big deal, not until he was pushed for details of his past and (non-existent) present dates.</p><p>“I see. And, do you have any hobbies?”</p><p>“My job…” Ed just admitted.</p><p>“Politics?”</p><p>“Potions. I still teach.”</p><p>“I take at least two potions every day,” Lucas told him. “For the heat. I can deal with the sun, but I get weaker because of the scorching weather.”</p><p>Edwin took another sip of his wine when he knew he already had too much.</p><p>“But maybe I could come and visit you in Hogwarts, I think I’d feel much better there,” Lucas went on.</p><p>“Of course, consider this my official invitation,” Ed told him, but he wasn’t even listening to what he was talking about, his mind racing somewhere else. No, Lucas was only talking about the weather, right? Right?</p><p>It was never so tempting just to Legilimens someone without them knowing, but Ed wouldn't.</p><p>“How about the day after tomorrow then? I have an international Apparation Licence and a day off. And you could invite me for solid food, or not solid food either.”</p><p>“I must admit, I don’t know much about the second one,” Ed concentrated on the detail so badly because he didn’t seem to be wrong, and Lucas seemed to be flirting. But why?</p><p>After all, Ed only…</p><p>“Would you like to? I’m only one-eight of a vamp, but when we feed, it’s supposed to release some chemicals into your blood that makes you feel quite… good.”</p><p>Ed didn’t want to imagine, because he could, and somehow, he almost wanted to try there and then, and he wasn’t sober enough to not trust himself it wasn’t stupid.</p><p>“Maybe. Do you often make such offers to the guests of your boss?” Ed rather just asked.</p><p>“Are you kidding? I’m just a house-elf to them, invisible, they don’t even notice I exist.”</p><p>“Then surely, you have more willing and attractive… participants,” Ed didn’t even know why he pushed the question.</p><p>“More willing once they know what I am, maybe. Attractive - I wouldn’t say.” Lucas laughed.</p><p>Ed started drinking water instead of his wine next, hearing that.</p><p>“So, do you have any hobbies?” he tried to steer the topic, but nothing better came to mind.</p><p>“I have a second job working as a nurse in Muggle blood-banks. So I get a fresh supply every night, you know.”</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>“I’m only kidding, I don’t have any time for anything but my job at the Ministry, and I don’t need blood sometimes for months or even years,” Lucas said, laughing at Ed cheerfully again. “If it’s not coming from the rat-colony I keep at my basement.”</p><p>“You’re joking, again.”</p><p>“Yes, because I don’t own a basement.”</p><p>“Or any rats,” Ed somehow was confident.</p><p>“See, you already get my humor! My mother doesn’t, and she knew me way longer than you.”</p><p>Edwin couldn’t help but chuckle on that comment. How was it possible, that after all, he might just have a good night?</p>
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<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Chapter 27</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I felt like helping Draco out a little in their relationship, and what better way to do it in this fic than across time? </p><p>But also notice, how he's become more honest with Harry? So even if I helped him, he also helps himself in a sense. (Just to have some character-development for you guys XD)</p><p>Thank you all very much for reading! This chapter is already a part of the happy-end XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry had never seen Draco still not dressed by seven, but when both Severus and Ed left to school, he found the blond arranging the documents he needed to owl from their bed, although it was almost noon.</p><p>“It’s unlike you to still be in your PJs.”</p><p>“I took this day off.”</p><p>“It doesn’t look like it.”</p><p>“I did, but it’s not like reading a couple of financial reports would wear me out,” Draco announced. “Which I would like to do if you don’t mind…”</p><p>“Admit it. You miss them dearly already, and it’s too quiet, and you don’t have Ed now to teach, so you don’t even have the motivation to get breakfast,” Harry sat down, making the blond wizard only nod.</p><p>“Yes, I do miss them.” </p><p>Harry by then could easily sense there was something more.</p><p>“I’ll tell Mindy we would like to have an early lunch here instead of downstairs,” he decided, but that only made Draco frown.</p><p>“You say that as if you were staying.”</p><p>“I’ll also take a day off. Maybe not even just one,” he announced happily, while there was that look again on Draco’s face. “What?”</p><p>“If you do that, I would like to be the one to check on the future now, if that’s alright with you.”</p><p>It was the last time they agreed to do it, just to make sure sending Eileen didn’t mess up the past completely compared to what Harry saw the last time he went.</p><p>“Of course,” Harry said, but by the time he could have kissed Draco, the blond got up to change his clothes.</p><p>---</p><p>They sent Eileen not entirely as far as they had they could, so in a couple of years they could still check on her, so it was no surprise she was there.</p><p>“You left yourself a letter,” she told Draco.</p><p>
  <i>Hi. I knew you wouldn’t trust anyone else when hearing this, but it’s true: you’re happy. Not just pretending, not just on the outside, but you are. So you better accept it, just as well the fact that I wasn’t around when Harry came to visit the last time because I was embarrassed how old I got, not because secretly we’ve broken up and couldn’t tell that just yet to you. I also remember the agony you felt when the kids left for school together the first time, thinking they were the glue that held you and Harry together, and with them gone he’ll have no reason to stay. Why don’t you ask him about that? Try and go back saying you should have a divorce and see how he reacts. Or maybe not… I won’t tell Harry it’s the time-traveling me today, so see our boring life together for yourself, if you want, just don’t mess up anything for me, would you?”</i>
</p><p>Draco realized the letter wasn’t sealed, and Eileen could have read it, but she just smiled.</p><p>“I won’t tell Harry anything today, and I’ve always known you had some issues trusting him. And that you were kind of an idiot if you ask me.”</p><p>“Thanks, I feel much better already,” Draco noted.</p><p>But, as the day progressed, he wanted to spend time with the older Harry but also wasn’t sure he should, so ended up in their Library, hiding.</p><p>“Are you alright?” still, other Harry had found him. Fate was cruel because he didn’t even age badly…</p><p>“Why do you ask?”</p><p>Could he tell his husband was switched? But Harry just chuckled, surprising him.</p><p>“I thought when you said you’re going to have a day off, it included me, yet you’re hiding away with a book you’ve already read?”</p><p>“I— I’m the other Draco, so technically, I haven’t read this book yet,” there was no way he could keep up the facade in front of Harry, and Draco didn’t feel like spying on their future would accomplish anything.</p><p>“Oh, I knew you’d appear sometime but didn’t know when,” Harry just beamed at him. “Is it such a scary though that you limit yourself to your Library only?”</p><p>“I—“</p><p>“We could go on a date. I’d show you our favorite restaurant, and try to keep you from learning anything you aren’t supposed to.”</p><p>“I’m only here for another… 38 minutes,” Draco stated. “And what would we even talk about?”</p><p>“Oh, so you don’t want to talk? We could do a lot of things still without talking.”</p><p>If Draco ever wondered whether or not he’d still have a good enough sex-life decades later, Harry’s smile could have assured him that was a yes.</p><p>“What do we usually do if we’re not ‘not talking’?” he rather just wondered.</p><p>“Drink tea on the terrace, take walks, visit the kids and the grandkids, or take care of business,” Harry listed. “We sometimes even go to Muggle cinema, you seem to like films which are so classy that they need subtitles.”</p><p>“What kind of business?” the Malfoy in Draco perked a little bit up.</p><p>“Remember when you bought a Muggle or Wizarding house cheap, I fixed it up with both magic and Muggle ways, you redecorated it and Eileen had found us so we had to sell it quickly to move somewhere else?”</p><p>“It would be hard to forget.”</p><p>“Well, we figured after the kids left that it’s basically house-flipping, and I do love to repair old homes, or turn Muggle ones into magical ones, while you have a good eye for colors and it’s decent money for a common hobby of ours.”</p><p>“Malfoys. Good taste and always eager to make more money,” Draco muttered because it wasn’t a bad idea, but from the description only, Harry could have worked with any number of his ancestors.</p><p>“Well, you’re now only a Malfoy if you ask me to call you that, in certain… situations,” Harry told him smiling. “And you must have good taste because you chose me.”</p><p>“Is that so? Weren’t you the one who <i>literary</i> threw yourself on me when I was trying to just mind my own time-traveling business alone?” Draco inquired making Harry laugh.</p><p>“Admittedly you only started meddling with time because you knew I couldn’t let you go into the past alone. So even if it would seem like I made the first move, you only performed the spell when I got there because you wanted me to interfere,” Harry, however, stood his ground as well in the teasing.</p><p>“Or, that’s what you tell yourself.”</p><p>“Actually, it was what you’ve told me you thought, Draco.”</p><p>“I can imagine I did since it would make sense,” and in a minute, they were kissing. </p><p>Even if there were decades between this time and Draco’s, nothing seemed to change in their dynamics. And that was the best. Nothing else could have put Draco’s worries to rest any better.</p><p>If they would be too perfect, he’d worry. If there was a distance between them later, also. But this Harry… was his.</p>
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<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Chapter 28</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning, some fluff ahead! XD I guess I wanted to show how Drarry's relationship evolved in an unconventional(?) way, but not even I could see this coming until the first draft.</p><p>Hope you guys don't hate it! XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>According to Draco, there were clothes and “rags there weren’t worth mentioning”, although, he seemed to mention them quite a lot.</p><p>Harry often just picked up the most practical clothes, and let Draco choose for Sev and Ed, but as the kids grew, they needed less and less consultation about fashion from their Dad.</p><p>When Harry was promoted, he used the opportunity to celebrate with Draco first. They had a great date, a dinner and altogether a very nice night…</p><p>Then, he also mentioned, as if in passing.</p><p>“I wonder if the Department Head Deputy should wear the same clothes I always do.”</p><p>Of course, it was a deliberate rouse.</p><p>“Noone should wear the clothes you do! It’s not fashionable in Europe, nor America. Not even in the midst of Muggles.”</p><p>“I didn’t know you were a Muggle fashion expert.”</p><p>“No, but I have two eyes.”</p><p>Harry inwardly smirked.</p><p>“Yes, but not everyone can have natural blond hair and blue eyes.”</p><p>“And look like a ghost if they don’t use the right colors,” Draco added.</p><p>Was it bad that Harry would have loved to see Draco even in clothes that didn’t fit him so well?</p><p>“Anyway, I could spend a lot of money, and never look like you.”</p><p>“Because you shouldn’t look like me, you should look just… better.”</p><p>“Ouch,” Harry noted, acting fake-offended as if he wasn’t used to Draco’s quirks by now.</p><p>“You know what I mean. The only reason I haven’t interfered picking out your clothes over the years because I’m trying to be less controlling and I don’t want Matt to lust after you even more. Or anyone in MACUSA.”</p><p>There they went again.</p><p>“But with this new title, you think I should change something?”</p><p>If Harry went about the issue as a Gryffindor and told Draco he wanted his husband to have some fun with shopping for him now that the kids were too old for it, it would have never worked.</p><p>Draco would be offended just by the suggestion alone that he cared for displaying his fashion sense so much, and he’d refuse to take Harry.</p><p>However, Harry was trying to get him to think it was his idea, using his promotion.</p><p>“Maybe you could sleep naked every single day,” however, as Harry tended to know what Draco was up to, so did Draco it seemed, wickedly grinning at him. “I’d keep you warm if it was chilly.”</p><p>“Maybe,” Harry considered, but only if Draco did the same. “But regarding my attire to match my new title?”</p><p>“You want to make me feel better by letting me do it, don’t you?”</p><p>“Only if it is a good surprise, when you figure that out,” Harry smirked.</p><p>“We can dress you up nicely as a test once, and then forget about it,” Draco shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind…”</p><p>Which was almost more than a confession that he’d like to do it, so they were on.</p><p>Harry didn’t know they’d spend the <i>whole day</i> going in and out of shops, and that he’d have to try on at least 35 types of dragon leather shoes.</p><p>It got especially scary for a minute when Harry also got a haircut - it was a tad bit harder for Draco to convince him about a new style given Harry’s experiences with Aunt Petunia and the nightmare when she was paired with scissors.</p><p>By the time it got dark, even the custom-charmed clothes were owled to them, Draco demanded to see all the items selected on him after dinner.</p><p>Harry was worn out, thinking that in the end, it was still a waste because he could look better, but not especially <i>that</i> good in anything when Draco draped him in new clothing (which he already saw a peek of when trying it out first, even if it wasn't the finished clothing, mostly just materials), and turned him to their mirror.</p><p>“See the difference? You can go a long way with some form-fitting charms and some looser accessories.”</p><p>And Harry did see a huge gap of difference, to his surprise. Not only were the garments his size, but also the cut of them were made especially for his body type. It was unbelievable.</p><p>“And you have pockets where you usually put and lose things because you don’t, but you’re too used to Muggle-clothing to notice it’s not what you’re wearing,” Draco pointed out.</p><p>And with Harry’s new hair, and what it seemed like the hundred-thousandth boot Harry tried on, it all came together.</p><p>The right colors accenting each other and his eyes every move they made, and his messier hair went good with the more pedant style of clothes no question.</p><p>“I don’t know what to say,” Harry watched as a stranger mouthed the same thing he said in the mirror. “Except maybe that I feel like I shouldn’t be just Department Deputy in these clothes, but at least someone… rich and famous. And I don’t want to take these off. Ever.”</p><p>Hell, even the material felt more comfortable, aside from his new image. And maybe he also got why the Malfoys always seem to move around with such graceful movements. You'd be a traitor to your fine garments if you'd run like a kid in them, for instance.</p><p>“I still want you to see a couple of others, so you should. Or, I can always take care of stripping you,” Draco suggested, kissing into Harry’s neck.</p><p>“Oh?” Harry turned to face him.</p><p>Maybe he told himself he didn’t care about his looks because at one time he couldn’t afford to. And he never knew he could look better than decent.</p><p>But, maybe what was supposed to be a surprise for Draco surprised him better.</p><p>“Oh, yes, definitely,” the blond smiled at him, but then cruelly pulled away, and turned to the next box which contained a carefully arranged piece of clothing. “This one next.”</p><p>They didn’t last more than 3 rounds of clothing before even Draco couldn’t care about the clothes anymore, and they ended up in bed, Draco delivering on his promise in a magnificent way.</p><p>“So, we agree I should wear them to the Ministry, or do you think it’s too much?”</p><p>“Dressing well is not a crime, even if the others around you think so. But maybe I shouldn’t let you, both wizards and witches would just throw themselves at you, only by seeing your appearance.”</p><p>“Which is how it has always been with you. How is that fair?”</p><p>“Fine, but if anyone touches you, I’ll make sure they’ll lose an arm,” Draco shrugged, and when Harry gave him a look, he went back on that. “Okay, I won’t curse you with that particular charm, but only because I trust you.”</p><p>“But I can also wear just some baggy T-shirt around the house sometimes?”</p><p>“Oh yes, you must, but if you wear very-very-<i>very</i> short shorts with it.”</p><p>“Dear Merlin,” Harry laughed.</p><p>“I’ll take you shopping from now on, you seem to badly need it,” Draco announced. “And maybe sometimes you can also direct me on what to wear. Not so much as the style, but maybe the type of clothing you’d prefer?”</p><p>“I do have a couple of ideas,” Harry agreed after his first shock. Some ideas that he had to Occlude pretty hard away to the back of his mind when the kids were back for summer.</p><p>Only later did he find out by accident that although he had all these new items of clothing, Draco secretly kept his old - favorite - T-shirts in the drawer that was strickly supposed to be Draco’s.</p><p>He couldn’t help but think how some of his Muggle Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin tees, for instance, wouldn’t look half-bad on the blond either.</p>
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<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Chapter 29</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning! Mentions of age-gap and UNDERAGE (if you count a 17-year-old as such). </p>
<p>If you don't like it please don't read! It had to be controversial, so it's on purpose. But I also didn't want to go overboard, so I settled with 17.</p>
<p>I do hope that's okay? But be careful... really, if you guys feel like that's something you rather not read about, then just think about the previous chapter as the last. XOXO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was an emergency, so Severus Flooed to Edwin’s place without a second thought. </p>
<p>The Ministry wanted to limit Potion researches because they were dangerous, but also then how should discoveries be made?</p>
<p>Only to almost curse a stranger in the kitchen to pieces until he registered that the stranger wasn’t dressed, and most probably Ed’s wards let him though because they had spent a night together.</p>
<p>“I’m Severus,” he put his wand away, and proceeded to the introduction, trying to guess if his brother’s houseguest was a one-night stand or something more Ed completely forgot to mention to him.</p>
<p>“I have heard a lot about you,” the wizard answered that question on the first go. “I’m Lucas. Nice to meet you.”</p>
<p>“I’m here because of an emergency—“</p>
<p>“I figured, you look rushed. And usually, you don’t just Floo over when I’m here.”</p>
<p>This suggested to Severus this was as far from a one-night stand as Ed ever got with someone.</p>
<p>“How long has this been going on?” he asked Lucas.</p>
<p>“Me and Ed seeing each other every once in a while? Nine years? Maybe it’s closer to 10.”</p>
<p>“Excuse me, but I got a brother to murder,” Sev announced, because had it been a couple of weeks, and he would have been almost fine with Ed never mentioning it.</p>
<p>But years, and he heard exactly <i>nothing</i> of this?</p>
<p>“You must understand, it’s not like we see each other every day, we’re both really busy, I’m from a different country, and we haven’t made any promises, just… like to spend time together when we can,” and Lucas must have seen Sev’s furious state as well, making excuses for Ed.</p>
<p>“You’re officially invited to our family lunch this Sunday,” Severus quickly told him. He had no time to speak now, but he figured he wanted later.</p>
<p>He will invite their Dads, Eileen, and even their friends for this…</p>
<p>“You think I wouldn’t accept you with a wizard? After all, our Dads-“ Severus questioned Ed while they were swiftly advancing in the Ministry’s building.</p>
<p>“It’s not about that,” Edwin sighed. “He was an intern when I got to know him, and conveniently forgot to mention his age, looking always older, and by the time I figured out, it was too late.”</p>
<p>Severus considered.</p>
<p>“How old?”</p>
<p>“He was 17 when first met, and I was 35. We still don’t date officially, and sometimes we don’t see each other for months but—”</p>
<p>“He’s only 27 NOW?!”</p>
<p>“See, that’s the reaction I wanted to avoid,” Edwin told him, and then they were too busy dealing with politics, so Severus had a little time to calm.</p>
<p>“I invited him for lunch on Sunday. You should probably tell Dads everything before that.”</p>
<p>Severus never saw Ed blush, but now even his ears went slightly pink, and he avoided eye-contact as if his life depended on it.</p>
<p>“Not literary <i>everything,</i> Merlin,” he offered. “But enough so Dad can have a fake nervous-breakdown only to forgive you by the time Lucas arrives, and Father can have a serious talk with you about your life choices, and I can have your head for not telling me.“</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>The moment Lucas left with Ed after the family lunch, everyone else suddenly had an opinion about their relationship.</p>
<p>“They are cute,” Severus noted, along with Harry who just muttered something along the lines “I like the kid”.</p>
<p>“We can’t let this go on,” however, Eileen saw it differently, and it coincided with Draco saying “I hated him”.</p>
<p>So, they were divided into two groups now, and stared long at each other in disbelief, hearing what the others had just said.</p>
<p>“Ed has been struggling with many things, even if he isn’t the Dark Lord here, I was worried about him,” Harry said, keeping eye-contact with his husband. “How can you not see tonight was the first night he enjoyed a family dinner?”</p>
<p>“A lot of people are funny. But some are more worthy. I know what it’s like to marry someone who is below you and it never ends well. Lucas might be young and carefree, but Edwin needs an intellectual partner,” Eileen said. “Just last month I had sent him on a date and he managed to charm—“</p>
<p>“Why don’t we rather mention that if we don’t want Ed to be fired we can’t let this happen?” Draco stopped her. “He’s a Headmaster dealing with young witches and wizards every day. If it comes out that he’s <i>ever</i> dated a 17-year-old, who is 18 years younger than him, the Ministry will get rid of him.“</p>
<p>“They are happy. Some might say that matters more than even a supposed consequence you’re mentioning,” Harry told him.</p>
<p>“And in a wizarding lifetime that can be 150-200, 18 years isn’t as it is with Muggles,” Severus noted. “Would you rather not know? Because Ed knew this was going to happen and kept it a secret for 10 years.”</p>
<p>“But not that we know, we must stop it,” Draco said, and Eileen just nodded. “For Ed’s sake. I bet if I even just hired someone to look into Lucas’s past, we could find something horrifying we could use.”</p>
<p>“I ask you to leave then,” Severus just stood from the table, since it was his home, and he couldn’t just walk out. “I don’t want to be any part of this. And if anything, you’ll force Ed more into Lucas’s arm if you meddle.”</p>
<p>“Oh, I’m sorry I want a better future for my child then just… <i>this</i> character,” Draco gesticulated the “this” with some unpleasant expression.</p>
<p>“We are leaving,” Harry announced. “And will discuss this in private first. Thank you for inviting us, son.”</p>
<p>“I shall take my leave as well,” Eileen also stood. “The dinner was excellent as always, sweetie, I just wish I could say the same for Ed’s companion.”</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>By the time Harry and Draco got home, the blond seemed to calm down somewhat, so Harry didn’t have to start so carefully around the topic.</p>
<p>Indeed, along the years, there were plenty of times when their opinions not only weren’t the same, but the exact opposite, and it wasn’t always easy navigating those waters.</p>
<p>But every time they resolved an issue, Harry could trust the next time they can do the same as well. And since they both had Slytherin traits, the negotiations didn’t always go as straightforward as one could expect.</p>
<p>“Why don’t we make a bet,” Draco - ever the strategist - pushed Harry to their bed, and settled on his lap, whispering into his ear.</p>
<p>“Let me guess, if you win, we have to get rid of Lucas?”</p>
<p>“Actually, I was thinking more like if Lucas proves to be not as good for Ed as you and Severus would like to think he is, in the next 20 years, you’d owe me something big.”</p>
<p>“And, how much would you interfere with their relationship to make this happen?”</p>
<p>“Not really?” Draco told him but then admitted. “Maybe just as much as I have to, to make it happen.”</p>
<p>“I have a counter-offer,” Harry kissed the blond. “If you don’t interfere at all for the let’s say… next two years, I will owe you a reward.”</p>
<p>“Depends on the reward, probably, but I’m listening,” Draco grinned cheekily back.</p>
<p>Fair to say, they completely forgot what they were talking about in just mere minutes, enjoying the “negotiations” more than whatever outcome they would settle on later.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, I decided to finish this fic here. Everything is well and good with all of the characters (or at least hinted that it is heading towards that way), and I didn't want to make it any longer.</p>
<p>Even though it was tempting because so many of you read it (which made me really happy!!!), so I'm extremely grateful for all of you. I appreciate all of the many-many positive kudos and comments as well, you guys are so supportive! &lt;3</p>
<p>I'd also like to thank Trickster for the prompt once again, she is creative, isn't she, with so many ideas that she can't even execute them all, so she gave me one... &lt;3</p>
<p>Next up in the challenge list I got from you guys is a Snarry prompt, which TBH will be definitely a strange shift after this fic, but also a good exercise to have as a writer - to switch between AUs without a problem? XD</p>
<p>Thank you, everyone, love you all!!! XOXO</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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